A Blue Light For the Dark
by BearfootTruck
Summary: One day, Sonic meets his old foe, Mephiles. However, Mephiles has changed...or has he? Sonic decides to become friends with him, but overcoming the past isn't always easy...
1. Tough Spot

One day, Sonic the Hedgehog was doing what he did best: Running around at super-speed. As he was tearing through Green Grove Zone like a strongman with a phonebook, he suddenly came to a halt and took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh…now this is livin'!" exclaimed Sonic. "I wish the whole world could be like this!"

While Sonic was enjoying the world around him, his little moment of bliss was interrupted when he heard somebody teleport behind him. He would've kept running, but he turned around to see who it was: It was Shadow the Hedgehog…NOT! It looked like Shadow, but this guy had bluish-green stripes, gray chest hair, and a tinge of bluish-green rather than red. This was Mephiles the Dark, an old foe of Sonic.

"Hello, Sonic," said Mephiles, his head hanging down.

"What the…" Sonic readied his fists. "All right, put 'em up, man!"

"Oh, how painful it is to be judged by the vestiges of one's past."

"Heh? What are ya talkin' about, Mephiles!? Is this some kinda sick game!?"

"No, it's not a game. I come to you with only the most honorable intentions."

Sonic crossed his arms. "Man, you're jivin' me! What makes you think I'm gonna listen to ya after what you did to me!?"

"You actually retained your memories of that moment?"

"You're dang right I did!" Sonic's eyebrow twitched. "Hey…why are ya lookin' at the ground!? What, is your neck broken or somethin'!? Answer me!"

Mephiles didn't answer Sonic; he kept looking at the ground. Sonic went over to him and forcefully grabbed him by the collar.

"You got a real attitude problem, sucka!" exclaimed Sonic. "I should break all your teeth right now…that is, if ya got any!"

"Go ahead, I would love to see you try," Mephiles lifted his head and glared at Sonic. "You couldn't possibly cause me any more pain than anything I've ever experienced."

"Oh, I see you're ready to face me like a man! Now tell me the truth: Why are ya here?"

Mephiles hung his head again.

"Sonic the Hedgehog…I am so lonely, and I feel underappreciated. All I want is to have a friend."

Sonic blinked in disbelief.

"Wait…first ya killed me, and now ya wanna be my friend!?" Sonic chuckled a bit. "Man, you must think I was born yesterday!"

"Please, do not do this to me. I told you that my intentions were honorable."

"Suuuuuuuure. Ya know, there are some real bad roads that were paved with honorable intentions."

This time, Mephiles managed to lift his head up just enough so that his reptilian green eyes could meet Sonic's eyes.

"I implore you; do try to understand this from my point of view:" said Mephiles. "That day when I killed you, something else entered my mind. When I witnessed how your companions felt, that was when I began to have reservations about what I was doing. When Princess Elise cried, I felt very much like crying, too. Yes, I had performed some exceptionally wicked acts before, but I was so immature back then. I cared for naught except getting revenge against the people who had so selfishly endeavored to manipulate me for their own covetous ends. Alas, I lost sight of my initial objective, and in the end, I became the very thing that I so despised.

Ironically, it took her loss for me to find myself. At that very moment, I realized that what I did was wrong and that I wanted no more part in the grand scheme I had constructed. How sweet the sound indeed. Regrettably, I did not have the willpower to discontinue my behavior due to the release of Iblis. Even if I did, Shadow the Hedgehog would never have understood…but you…you were different. When your friends were in bereavement, I understood why they loved you. At once, I saw an uncommon kindness, a willingness to absolve one of their past sins. Sonic, I know you are more than willing to do likewise for me."

Sonic was speechless.

"Look…Mephiles…I can see you're in a real tough position, but I'm not sure if I can forgive ya for icing me."

"Sonic, I'm sorry for what I did to you. How can I make things better?"

"Gee…I'll have to think about that for a bit," Sonic scratched his chin. "In the meantime, I gotta say, ya got a real good case goin' on there!"

"Is this an indication of your forgiveness?"

Sonic paused for a moment.

"Ah…what the hey!" exclaimed Sonic. "Amy once told me that everybody deserves a second chance, and you're definitely somebody, so I forgive ya!" He let go of Mephiles.

"Thank you," said Mephiles. "I am most grateful." He held his head up higher now.

"You're welcome, man! There's just one problem…"

"Yes?"

"I may have forgiven you for now, but that don't mean I'm gonna invite ya to my next birthday party just yet. I really wanna know that you're tellin' the truth, ya dig?"

Mephiles held his hands out to the sides, as he often did.

"Pardon me, but what do you mean by that last part?" he asked.

"Oh…my bad!" said Sonic. "I mean, 'you understand?'"

"Yes, I understand if you are hesitant to confide in me. What must I do before I am worthy of your trust?"

"Well…now that ya mention it…there are plenty of fun things we can do if you're willin' to turn over a new leaf."

"Seems…compelling. I accept your offer. What shall we do now?"

"There's one thing that I really like, and that's running! Come on, let's boogie!" Sonic started running. Having grasped Sonic's meaning, Mephiles tried running after him. However, he couldn't keep up, so he yelled: "Sonic, wait!"

Sonic stopped running.

"What's wrong, pal?"

"My power has atrophied since our last encounter," replied Mephiles. "Could you please reduce your speed?"

"Hey, if it really is that bad, I suppose I can slow down a bit. Now, let's do it to it!" The two of them continued on.


	2. To Sleep No More?

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey, sorry I took so long to update. After taking a second look at where this story was going, I decided it needed some work. On top of that, I was involved with other projects, so I got sidetracked. Anyways, I want to give a big thanks to those of you who favorited & followed my works! I appreciate it very much! I would also like to give thanks to those who gave me inspiration, because inspiration is such a wonderful thing! Finally, I wish to thank those who gave me ****_useful_**** criticism! I'm not trying to become the best writer in the world, but I do appreciate help! But enough about all that; let us get back to the story...**

* * *

Sonic & Mephiles ran around Mobius as fast as they could go. However, not everything was as it seemed.

_(Wait a minute, what am I doin'?) _thought Sonic. _(Did I really just forgive him that easy? This guy killed me once! He's probably gonna try it again, too! Maybe he's tellin' the truth, though. Yeah right…and maybe I'll win a hundred billion Mobiums in some contest I didn't enter! Still…nah…)_

After giving it a little more thought, Sonic came to a decision: Contrary to what he said he wouldn't do, he ran faster, faster, as fast as he could go.

"Sonic, what are you doing!?" cried Mephiles, who tried in vain to keep up. "Sonic, I told you that my power had deteriorated! Sonic, please stop! No, Sonic, don't! Sonic!" Sonic refused to stop, and despite his best efforts, Mephiles just couldn't keep up. In fact, he ended up tripping over his own feet. He didn't even get back up; he just laid there.

"Oh, Sonic…" Mephiles made one more grasp for the horizon before laying his head down on the ground.

* * *

Sonic ran back to Knothole, a small yet lively village in the depths of the Great Forest, one of the precious bastions of freedom in a world on the edge.

"Ah, home sweet home!" said Sonic. "Well…it was sweet, I guess…" Sonic walked back to his hut. On the way, he encountered Sally Acorn.

"Hello Sonic! How's it going?"

"Pretty good," replied Sonic.

"Pretty good? Is that all?"

"Yep, that's all! Have a good day, Sal!"

"You too, Sonic!" The two of them waved as they parted ways. Then, Sonic encountered Rotor Walrus.

"Hey, welcome back, Sonic!" said Rotor. "I was just looking for you!"

"What is it, Rote?" asked Sonic.

"Sonic…are you OK? You seem a little off."

"Don't worry about me; I'm just beat, that's all."  
"Right. Hey, I just have one question…"

"What?"

"Can I borrow your video tape of _Remote Reloader_?"

"*Sigh*…go ahead." Sonic went to his hut and returned a few seconds later with the little plastic box that people hardly ever use anymore.

"Thanks, Sonic!" said Rotor.

"Sure thing…" Sonic walked back to his hut.

* * *

Back in his hut, Sonic sat on his bed in a pensive state. The hut was a modestly-sized wooden one with a sealed roof. It wasn't the most well-appointed home, but it did have a couple of beds, a sink, a bookshelf, a television set, some video games, a small table and a couple of cabinets.

_(Why am I worryin' about him?)_ thought Sonic._ (It's not like I made the wrong decision or nothin'! He was gonna trick me, anyways. I don't know why I fell for his story…)_

While Sonic was mulling over the situation, his best friend Miles "Tails" Prower entered the hut.

"Good afternoon, Sonic!" said Tails.

"Oh…hey there, Tails."

"Sonic…is something wrong?"

"No…nothin's wrong," replied Sonic. "Really!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! No jive!"  
Tails walked over to Sonic and sat down beside him.

"Sonic, you're my best friend, and ever since I've known you, I could easily tell when there was something bothering you."

"Look, there's nothin' bothering me! I'm just thinkin', that's all!"

"If there's something bothering you, I'll be happy to listen."

Sonic took a deep breath.

"Ah…you're right, buddy," he said. "I can't just ignore all the good advice that I've been givin' to kids over the years! That would be way uncool, ya know?"

"Yeah, I see what you mean," said Tails.

"Well…since you're here, I'll tell ya what's bothering me: Have you ever had one of those days where…you know…somethin' came up and ya made a decision…but ya weren't sure you made the right decision?"

"Not that I remember. Why? What happened?"

"Well, uh…it's like…I guess it's…uh…ya see…er…it's…" Sonic threw his hands up. "…ah, never mind. I don't think you'd believe me anyways."

"I'd believe you!" said Tails.

"Look…just forget it, Tails. I don't think I feel so comfortable talking about this jazz, anyways. Still, thanks for bein' here for me! You're a real ray of sunshine!"

"Thank you too, Sonic!" The Blue Blur & the Two-Tailed Wonder gave each other a hug.

After the hug, Tails said: "I have to get back to work now. I hope you feel better soon!"

"OK, see ya later, pal!" For the two of them, the rest of the day went well, although Sonic could never quite get _him_ off his mind…

* * *

That night, Mephiles curled up in a small ditch near Green Grove Zone and went to sleep. Actually, it was nearly impossible for him to sleep because of everything that was going through his mind. Even though he suffered from partial memory loss, there was so much that bothered him.

_(Oh, life used to be so splendid when I was Solaris…)_ thought Mephiles.

Actually, unlike Joe Walsh, life hadn't been good for Mephiles even back then, because at some point during his lifetime as Solaris, he began to develop the sensation of loneliness. He wasn't too sure of when it began, but he wondered if perhaps it began when the Royal Family of Soleanna took him under their care, or perhaps some time afterwards. After all, one cannot get lonely if one doesn't know that other beings exist, right?

_(No, that seems rather dubious…)_

On the other hand, Mephiles recalled how the people of Soleanna used to worship him, shower him with gifts and hold festivals in his honor.

_(And they were so congenial, too…)_

Even so, not one of these people would take time out of their schedules –assuming any of them had schedules – and make friends with him, get to know him more personally. While this hurt him deeply, he did enjoy being worshipped. Thus, he kept his true feelings hidden behind a mask of coldness, yet also hoped that someone, somewhere, might become his friend.

_(That is why I sought __him__, after all…)_

Unfortunately for Solaris, that moment never came. Next thing he knew, he was being used as part of a research experiment. Mephiles didn't remember too much about that, either. One moment, it seemed as if he was just minding his own business, and next thing he knew, he was in a cold, dark research facility.

_(Why did they extricate me from my old shrine? It was far more preferable to that uncomfortable laboratory…)_

Then, at some point during the Solaris Project, he became angry. Once again, Mephiles couldn't remember much about this, but he knew that at least one of the scientists did something to anger him. As mentioned earlier, his initial desire for revenge led to one thing, then another, and he spiraled out of control until his eventual downfall. Mephiles couldn't remember anything about what happened between his downfall & resurgence.

_(Oh, curse it all! Why do I continue living without Iblis? No, Iblis is immaterial; it was the denizens of Soleanna who gave me life. Here I am, my power decayed, by their absence dismayed…)_

Finally, Mephiles just cried on the inside until he got to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, everyone in Knothole gathered at the picnic area for breakfast. During breakfast, Sally Acorn paused and took notice of Sonic.

"Sonic, why are you eating like that?" she asked.

Sonic briefly stopped eating his pancakes. "Eating like what!?"

"Well usually, you eat faster than everyone else,"  
"So what? I can eat however fast I want! I just don't feel like inhalin' my breakfast right now."

"Honestly…you're weird sometimes."

Sonic shrugged. "Sal, if you ask me, everyone's weird one way or another."

"Oh, don't even…" said Sally. "Actually, I suppose you're right…" They continued eating without any other incidents.

* * *

After breakfast, Sonic laid back down on his bed and didn't go out for a while. Eventually, Tails came to see him.

"Sonic, are you OK?" asked Tails. "What's wrong?"  
Sonic got up. "NOTHING! Absolutely nothing!"

Both of them were taken aback by Sonic's outburst.

"Whoa…s-s-sorry Tails! I didn't mean to let it slip like that!"

"Sonic…is that thing still bothering you?"

"*Sigh*…yeah, I still got that on my mind…"

"Then why don't you tell me about it?"

"Because…because…I don't know why!" Sonic threw his hands up. "It's just so hard to talk about!"

"Wow, it sounds like it's really bothering you!" said Tails.

"Yeah! You bet it is!"

"Sonic, I just want to say that I feel sorry for you."

"Hey, I feel sorry for me too, but I don't know how I'm gonna get through this jazz!"

The two of them paused for a moment.

"Hmmm…have you thought about confronting the problem directly?" asked Tails.

"Heh? How do ya mean, buddy?" asked Sonic.

"Well, if you're having trouble talking about your problem, why not just go to wherever the problem is and find a way to resolve it?"

"Gee, I'm not sure how…" Then, Sonic snapped his fingers. "Well, screw me in and call me a lightbulb! I just got an idea!"

"Hey, that's great!"

"All right, gotta burn, Vern!" Rather than running out at high speed, however, Sonic slowly made his way over to the door, sweat dripping down his face. "Yep, I'm goin'…I gotta go fast…so I can solve…my problem, heh heh…"

"Come on, Sonic! You can do it! I know you can solve your problem if you just believe in yourself!"

"Of course! Gottagetthisoverwith…" Sonic just sucked it up and ran out of there as quickly as he could.

* * *

Sonic ran around the country. Every so often, he would pause and wait for a few moments. At first, he was merely impatient, and occasionally, he said "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'mmmmmmmmm waaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnng" as he waited for whatever – or whoever – he was searching for. Soon, however, he began to get nervous – real nervous. Ordinarily, Sonic wouldn't lose his cool, but like The Man said, this thing of his was really bothering him.

Finally, after a long, agonizing search, he met up with a certain someone at the edge of the Great Forest.

"Good morning, Sonic."

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Sonic shook his hands around wildly in front of his face. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to do it I just didn't know if I did the right thing please don't hurt MEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Sonic…what the hell are you panicking about?"

Sonic's ear twitched. He slowly lowered his hands away from his face and opened his eyes. Standing before him was Shadow the Hedgehog, his longtime rival.

"Oh…heh heh…sorry about that, Shadow! I thought…ah, never mind. I guess I'm just a bit jumpy today, that's all."

"Hmph" said Shadow. "Well, now that you've stopped _acting_ like a pathetic mortal, I just came to return this book to you." Shadow handed Sonic a copy of _Mysterious Akavir_. This volume had a light reddish-brown cover with gilded lettering and pages trimmed in gold leaf.

"Heh? This ain't my book!" Sonic handed it back. Shadow gave him a suspicious look for a moment.

"Oh…of course. Now that I think of it, I just remembered that this book belongs to Knuckles."

"Right. Well uh…see ya later, Shad!" Sonic kept running.

* * *

Sonic felt a bit of relief now. However, he was still worried. Sure, he said he wanted to confront his problem directly, but he wasn't really sure whether he actually wanted to do that or just go back home. So, he just kept doing what he did best: running. Eventually, somewhere out in the plains, Sonic met _him_ again.

"Hello again, Sonic," said Mephiles.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Sonic.

"Sonic…is something amiss?"

"Oh…sorry about that, Mephiles!" Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "I was just lookin' for ya!"

"Me too. I must inquire: Why did you run away from me? I informed you quite clearly that I was incapable of running at full pace. Even with my sporadic memory loss, I can still recall important details."

"Hey, I'm sorry about that, man! I…I just freaked out…that's all!" Sonic had a nervous smile on his face.

"Why?" It seemed like a simple question, but given Mephiles' coldness, it was quite easy to misinterpret.

"I…I guess I wasn't too sure about everything…" replied Sonic.

"Is that so?" Mephiles extended his arms, palms out. "Sonic…I never realized you harbored such feelings; I thought you meant to abandon me in an unfamiliar territory!"

"What!? You're kiddin'!"

"No, I'm not."

Sonic paused for a second.

"Oh. Well…like I said, I'm sorry about that. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot last time, ya know?"

"Yes, I comprehend. I assure you that I have no ill intentions anymore; I just want a friend."

"Right. So anyways, let's just…" Suddenly, Sonic clammed up again.

_(Oh, why am I even doin' this!?)_ he thought. _(How can I really know that he ain't tryin' to kill me? He gave me his word, but maybe I need more than that.)_

"Well?" asked Mephiles.

"Sorry, man! I just spaced out for a bit, that's all. Anyways, I wanted to say I…I…" No matter how hard he tried, though, Sonic couldn't help losing his nerve. It was evident not only in the sweat dripping down his forehead, but also in the way his legs shook.

_(Forget this!)_ he thought. _(I'm outta here!)_ The Blue Blur ran away. Once again, Mephiles tried to run after him, but his energy still wasn't completely restored, so he lost Sonic again.

"Why?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Knothole…

"So, did you get your problem taken care of?" asked Tails.

"I sure did, lil' bro!" replied Sonic. "Thanks for the advice; I appreciate it!"

"You're welcome! By the way, what was it that you were having trouble with?"

"Ah, just…some trouble with Shadow. I thought he was gonna kill me over some book or somethin'…but it's all good now! Ya know, that's the strange thing with Shads; sometimes, you can't tell if he's gonna rip your head off or not."

"Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem. I'm glad I could help!"

"Anytime, Tails! Anytime!" Sonic gave Tails a high-five before moving on.

The rest of the day passed normally, until it was time to go to bed. Contrary to what Sonic said, it wasn't all good now. That night, he was plagued by thoughts of Mephiles. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get over that one day, all those forsaken months ago.

_(Was he jivin' me?)_ thought Sonic. _(Did he really need a friend that bad? I can't just let him die out there, but I gotta save my own skin, too…)_

With such a weight on his head, Sonic found it very hard to fall asleep.

* * *

In contrast, Mephiles – who fell asleep on bare ground – found it easier to go to sleep. That night, he regained some more of his memory. He still couldn't remember who it was that first imprisoned him in the Scepter of Darkness, and considering what else was coaxed from within the dark, foggy maze of his mind, he didn't care.

Now, at long last, Mephiles could remember what happened between the moment that he was defeated and the moment that he reunited with Sonic…and he wished he didn't. The demon remembered being imprisoned within a hellish void. No words could adequately describe the pain & despair that he experienced within this prison. It was so unfathomable. How could he cope with what he didn't understand? Few people had the strength & determination to suffer through this sort of torture…this misery, or the courage to defy defeat, in the hopes that one might begin anew. Somehow, sometime…he did it.

Even when Mephiles escaped that void, though, he could never escape the pain…the remorse. He was locked and barred within this prison, and he'd be forever guarded in this prison until he could find the keys to unlock it. He thought he had the keys, but every time he tried to open that blue lock, the combination changed. Worse yet, the Dark One found his own words coming back to bite him, to stab at him with their crystalline claws…

_"Oh, how ironic fate can be…"_

"Yes, I killed that Hedgehog, and yet now I need him above all else. However, it seems as if he is unable to fathom that. Strange…"

_"Such foolishness…"_

"No, that isn't me! Well, at any rate, that scarcely reflects upon me anymore…"

_"It's futile. The world will betray you…"_

"No, stop it! That isn't true! Sonic would never do that! Even if he has absconded, he shall return…right?"

_"Drown in darkness!"_

"No…please! No more! It's over! I have already fulfilled my sentence! This is unnecessary! Stop…no more!"

Finally, Mephiles awoke from his nightmare. At first, he was wrought with sadness, but it soon changed to anger. He was tired of the pain, the remorse, everything. He dug his fingers into the cold ground and squeezed. At that moment, he knew what he had to do…


	3. Problems & Solutions

The next morning, Sonic didn't even get out of bed. He may have woken up, but only because his brain got fed up with sleeping. Otherwise, he just curled up in bed, facing the wall. He didn't even go for breakfast. The other residents of Knothole chose to ignore him and get on with their daily business. After all, they knew that Sonic sometimes liked to get his beauty sleep. Not being a resident of Knothole, Rouge the Bat didn't know this. She glided over to Sonic's hut and quietly slipped in through an open window.

After setting herself down, Rouge said, "Good morning, sleepyhead! How's my favorite blue hedgehog doing today?"

"Go away, Rouge," said Sonic, sighing.

Rouge blinked a couple of times.

"Sonic…what's wrong?"

"Just buzz off, OK?"

Rouge put her hands on her hips.

"Shadow…don't tell me you painted yourself blue and re-did your quills to look like Sonic!"

"Ha ha, very funny. Like that's the first thing I needed today."

Sensing his true feelings, Rouge relaxed her stance. "Oh, I'm sorry, Big Blue! I didn't mean to upset you!"

"It's OK, Rouge. At this point, there ain't much you can do that's gonna upset me a whole lot more."

"Awwww…I'm sorry to hear that. Care to tell me about it?" asked Rouge.

"No…not really…" said Sonic.

"Are you _sure_?"

Sonic sighed again. "Yes…"

"I see."

At that moment, Rouge smiled as she got another one of her cheeky little thoughts. She went and sat down on the edge of Sonic's bed. Then, she attempted to tickle him. However, Sonic brushed her hands away without giving so much as a titter.

"My…you really are grouchy today!" said Rouge. "I have to be honest, I don't think you know how much it hurts me to see you like this. Could you please tell me what's wrong? I promise I won't tell anybody!"

"Nah…I don't really feel like it," replied Sonic.

"Really, you can trust me! I may have big ears, but I don't have a big mouth!"

"Why should I bother? Knuckles was right…you're just a jewel thief, so you wouldn't know."

Hearing this, Rouge grasped the mattress and squeezed, trying not to yell at Sonic for insulting her. Sure, maybe he didn't mean it, but she couldn't help but feel angry because of his remark.

"Trust me, Big Blue" said Rouge. "I'll understand." _(Even though you're a sour lemon right now!)_ she thought._  
_

"I dunno…" said Sonic. "I'm not feelin' up to it."

"Please, just tell me!"

"Forget about it."

"Please tell me!"

"Up your nose."

Rouge's grip tightened.

"Look, I'm not letting you off the hook until you tell me. I'm sorry you're upset, and it's OK to feel that way. However, I really think you should tell somebody about this!"

"Like I said, why bother? I just don't wanna talk about this, OK?"

Rouge jumped up from the bed. "Well, fine! Be that way, but don't come crying to me if you have any other problems!" She decided to fly away. However, Sonic spoke up before Rouge could take to the air:

"Rouge…"

Rouge stopped.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Are ya really gonna hold it against me that much if I don't tell you what it is?" asked Sonic.

"Of course I will!"

Sonic let out a rather long sigh. "OK, I'll tell ya. Here's the…"

"Not so fast, Sonic!" Rouge sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Before you tell me about what's bothering you, I want you to do _one_ thing for me…"

"Yes?"

"Turn over and face me!" Then, Rouge smiled. "I want to see your pretty face!"

"Fine…" With false exertion, Sonic slowly turned over so he could see Rouge.

"There we go! See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"Noooooo, it was _only_ easier than tryin' to fly the Tornado blindfolded…" said Sonic.

"All right, that's enough lip outta you!" _(Gee, even when he's sad, he's still a blue ball of sass!) _thought Rouge. _(Of course, I've always liked that about him…)_

"Well…anyways…" began Sonic, "…here's the buzz: Remember the adventure we had at Soleanna?"

"But of course!" said Rouge. _(What a mess that was!)_ she thought,

"See…for some reason, I can't get that off my mind lately. One day, I'm just runnin' around, doin' my thing, and next thing I know, I-I can't stop thinkin' about…well…"

"Well?"

Sonic spent a few moments trying to clear the proverbial frog from his throat. However, he mustered up the courage to continue.

"…it was that day when I got bopped," said Sonic. "I can't stop thinkin' about it…about how sad all my friends must've been. Yeah, I know we hit rewind on that tape and fixed everything, but I can still remember it like it did happen. Because of that, I just can't stop thinkin' about all you guys! I guess what I'm tryin' to say here is I'm…well, I can't stand to think about my friends losin' me like that again. But ya know what the worst part is?"

"No, what is it?" asked Rouge.

"…I couldn't even tell my lil' buddy Tails about all this! Believe me, I really tried…but I couldn't do it, and now I'm real bummed out about it! I even lied to him when I said I was feelin' fine! Oh man…I don't know what he's gonna think of me now…"

"It's all right, Sonic! I understand!" Sonic & Rouge looked over and saw Tails standing near the doorway.

"Tails…?" queried Sonic.

"I heard everything you said, Sonic," said Tails. Sonic ran over to his little orange friend and hugged him.

"Oh Tails, I'm so sorry I didn't tell ya earlier! I said I tried, man! You're not mad at me, are ya? Please, tell me you're not mad at me!"

Tails returned Sonic's hug. "No, I'm not mad! Like I said, I understand! Everything's gonna be OK, Sonic!" Their embrace lasted for a few moments.

"Awwwww…how adorable!" said Rouge. "Well, it's nice to know you're here for each other!"

"Amen to that!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Now, I'm glad you two helped me out, and I think that's real solid, but there's just one problem: What if I keep on havin' nightmares about that thing?"

"Hmmm…" Rouge put her hand on her hip. "I wonder: How long has it been since you two crusaders went on a trip together?"

"Well…" replied Sonic, "I think…ah…geez, I'm not sure. It's been a while since Tails & I went runnin' around together."

"I can't remember either," replied Tails. "I guess we've been so comfortable going out on our own adventures that we never paid attention to that."

"Well, you know what I think?" asked Rouge.

"What?" said Sonic & Tails.

"I think you two should go on another voyage together! The way I see it, Sonic, you've been suffering from separation anxiety, and maybe a trip with Fox Boy is just what the doctor ordered!"

"Hey, maybe that's it, Rouge!" said Sonic. "I mean, we gotta cherish our friends while they're still here, right? Besides, this'll be another mondo good time that we can share together!"

"I agree!" said Tails. "We've done so much together, but sometimes, I think we should have more adventures with each other."

"All right! Gotta speed, Keed!" The dynamic duo prepared to depart.

"Hold it!" exclaimed Rouge. The two of them stopped.

"What now?" asked Sonic.

"You're not leaving without saying goodbye, are you?"

"Dang, I forgot about that! Smell ya later, Rouge!"

"Bye!" said Tails.

"No, silly!" Rouge chuckled slightly. "That's not what I meant!"

"Huh?" queried Sonic. "Then what…" In a flash, Rouge did a backflip and landed near the duo, and then…

"GROUP HUG!" Rouge hugged Sonic & Tails, pressing them against each other. In their state of surprise & awkwardness, the two of them returned her gesture as best as they could. When the jewel thief finished her group hug, she noticed that Sonic & Tails' faces were bright red.

"Thanks for the hug, guys!" said Rouge. "Buh-bye!" She flew out through the same window she came in.

After Rouge left, Tails asked, "Sonic, do you ever get the feeling that Rouge likes us too much?"

"Nah, I think she's just jokin' around with us! But never mind that; let's just get our groove on!"

* * *

And so, after Sonic had breakfast, the Blue Blur & the Two-Tailed Wonder were off on another fantastic journey. For this round, Sonic decided to take Tails to Green Hill Zone first. His idea was to retrace the steps of his earlier adventures, including those that Tails had never been on. Unlike the first time around, for the most part, there were no enemies or spike traps, so the dynamic duo was free to run around largely uninterrupted. Every now and then, they took a pause to admire the scenery.

For the most part, considering the state that the Kingdom of Mobius was in, their adventure went like clockwork. Some of the highlights included bouncing around Spring Yard Zone, a nostalgia trip for Tails in Emerald Hill Zone, and some more bouncing around in Casino Night Zone (now Pinball Night Zone). There, they decided to have a competition to see who could rack up the most points in 10 minutes. Sonic won by a nose…but who knows? Maybe Tails will win next time.

The trip wasn't completely hazard-free, though. In Emerald Hill, for example, they encountered a group of SWATbots & a hovertank.

"Aw, this is wacked!" exclaimed Sonic. "Let's get outta here!"

Sonic & Tails also skipped a few areas, such as Scrap Brain Zone & Chemical Plant Zone, mainly because they were A. Reduced to rubble, and/or B. Major areas of operation for the Eggman Empire. As much fun as Sonic had ruining their operations, he didn't feel like taking them on right now. The two of them did, however, re-enact their famous Sky Chase with the Tornado 1. Just like last time, it was Tails at the controls and Sonic on the wing.

After a brief visit to Angel Island, plus some visits to foreign lands such as Holoska, Chun-Nan & Mazuri, they concluded their trip by just hanging out at Star Light Zone and looking up at the stars together.

"Man…no matter how many times I come here, it never gets old!" said Sonic. "This is far out!"

"Yeah, I agree with you!" said Tails.

"Hey, thanks for doin' this with me, Tails!"

"You're welcome! I guess Rouge was right when she said we needed this, huh?"

"You betcha! I feel a whole lot better now!"

Sonic & Tails spent quite a while under the stars.

* * *

Oddly enough, when they got back to Knothole, it was almost like they hadn't been gone for more than a couple of hours at most.

"Ahhh…home sweet home and it feels so good!" said Sonic.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Tails.

"What else? I'm gonna get out there and run!"

"Are you sure about that? I don't want you to get separation anxiety again."

"Chill out, my man! My head's feelin' better now! Besides, I promise I'll hang with you more from now on! Sound good?"

"OK, Sonic. Be careful now!" Tails gave Sonic a thumbs up.

"You got it, dude!" Sonic returned the gesture and took off, while Tails tended to the Tornado.

* * *

Once again, Sonic sped across the rocky plains, free as the proverbial wind.

_(Yeah, it's good to feel free again!)_ thought Sonic. _(Now, let's see what's shakin' at…)_

*BOOF!*

Seemingly out of nowhere, Mephiles charged into Sonic, knocking another sort of wind out of him. Before Sonic could completely recover, Mephiles punched him in the face three times before roundhouse kicking him, knocking him to the ground.

"Sonic, you callous cretin!" Mephiles gave Ol' Blue a couple more kicks while he was down.

"AAHHHH!" cried Sonic. "What the flip are you doin'!?" He just managed to roll out of the way before Mephiles landed another blow on him, after which he sprung to his feet.

"Attempting to gain my retribution!" replied Mephiles, who jumped and attempted to kick Sonic. However, the Blue Blur dodged him and got to his feet.

"Wha…? What did I do!?"

"Do not feign ignorance, Hedgehog! You deserted me in one of my most unpropitious hours! You knew most clearly that I desired a friend…and you deliberately abandoned me in an alien acreage, to be plagued by the foul phantasms of my past!"

"Oh yeah, says who!? How do I know you weren't makin' all that up?" Sonic pointed his finger at Mephiles. "Maybe ya cooked up that whole sob story just so you could get close to me and whack me again!"

"Yes…heave your arrogant accusations at me! They will be your unfortunate undoing!"

"No Mephiles, they'll be yours! Come at me, sucka!"

"As you like it! I'll make sure you regret this, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic & Mephiles resumed battle. Sonic did a jump kick and hit Mephiles square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. Then, he brought the Dark One to his feet and punched him in the nose a few times. However, Mephiles managed to duck one of Sonic's punches and punched him in the stomach. While Big Blue was still reeling, Mephiles grabbed him by the arms and threw him to the ground. Fortunately for Sonic, he rolled out of the way before Mephiles could grab him again. The Blue Blur then attempted a Spin Dash, but so did Mephiles. Both of them were thrown to the ground by the seismic collision, but they got up after a few seconds.

"Strange, isn't it?" queried Mephiles. "It appears that your tactics will not avail you since I have analyzed them most thoroughly!"

"HA!" exclaimed Sonic. "I've seen stranger things in my lifetime! But enough talk; let's finish this!" Next, Sonic ran at Mephiles ant attempted to clothesline him. However, the Dark One simply grabbed his arm and flailed him against the ground a few times. With Sonic still on his back, Mephiles jumped over to him, straddled his body and began choking him.

"Yes…how fitting that it should come to this!" said Mephiles. "I would never have imagined that I would neutralize you a second time! What you gave to me, I now return to you: An eternity of torment!"

Sonic struggled to break free of Mephiles' hold. However, it was no use; the demon squeezed as tightly as he could. The Blue Blur never believed that it would end like this, with that cruel reptilian glare being the last thing that he ever saw. Thus, he prepared to face the inevitable…


	4. How Ironic Fate Can Be

As Sonic was being choked to death, Mephiles' eyes never strayed from him. Then, Big Blue felt something most unusual: Mephiles was loosening his grip on him. As the Dark One's hands let go of Sonic's neck, so too did he let go of that angry look. Sonic desperately gasped for air, coughing up some saliva in the process.

"No…it's all wrong!" said Mephiles, who looked at his hands. "What am I doing? I could never perform such a hideous transgression again!"

Finally, when Sonic caught his breath, he shoved Mephiles off of him and got back to his feet.

"Oh yeah!?" exclaimed Sonic. "Well I could!" He punched Mephiles a few times. The demon extended his hands forward and backed away.

"Sonic, s-STOP! I beg of you…stop this assault!"

Sonic stopped, but he didn't relax his stance.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't smash you into the ground right now!" he shouted.

"Sonic…I…when I gaze into your eyes…for reasons unfamiliar to me, I…I am reminded of everything that is beautiful & wholesome in this world. I have yet to feel more touched."

"Well, let me remind you of somethin' else, man! Now, you said to me that ya saw how bad my friends felt after you burned me, right?"

"Burned?" queried Mephiles.

"*Sigh*…_killed_…"

"Oh, y-yes…of course…"

"Now, at that time, do you remember seein' a little orange fox, about this high…" Sonic held his hand up to about Tails' height, "…with two tails?"

"Yes…" Mephiles relaxed slightly, but remained alert, "…I-I remember quite unmistakably."

"Well, he wasn't just any friend of mine! That little fox just so happened to my best friend! No…more than that, he was like a little bro to me! Heck…he and I meant the world to each other, and ya took me away from him! Forget about Princess Elise; I was worried sick thinkin' about how my best friend would keep on keepin' on without me!"

"Did he truly mean that much to you? I…I regret my actions more than ever now…"

"Oh yeah!?" exclaimed Sonic. "Well next time ya think about playin' any of your sick little games, you think about all the misery you caused him, got it!? YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, FRIDGE-HEAD! 'Cause however bad ya feel now, he probably felt much worse than that!"

At this point, Mephiles fell to his knees, clutching his head in his hands.

"No…" Mephiles felt like he wanted to cry, but he tried not to because this went against everything he knew. Yes, Mephiles once admitted that he felt like crying, and yet he feared that Sonic would think he was weak if he did so. "No, no, no! That was never meant to transpire! I never intended to inflict anguish upon you or your other friends! My sole intention was to make the princess cry so that I could liberate Iblis! I…I even tried to ensure that your demise was as swift and painless as possible! Please…you must believe me!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" said Sonic, "…so ya gave me your word, but that's all ya have: words! You're gonna need more than that or I'm gonna pound your face in!"

"Sonic…" Mephiles lowered his hands and slowly reached for something. Sonic kept a sharp eye on him. However, he needn't have worried, for what Mephiles did was unexpected…and kind.

"…I'm sorry." He presented Sonic with a bunch of flowers. Each flower had six petals of a vibrant cobalt blue, plus a bright green head. Sonic gasped when he saw them.

"I…I…you didn't!" Sonic was practically hypnotized by this gesture. He slowly dropped his defensive posture.

"I thought of you when I found these," said Mephiles. "I intended to present them to you much earlier, when I was not so enraged, but I was unable to make contact with you. Do you like them?"

"Gee…I dunno…" said Sonic. "They're beautiful…but I…I don't know if I can accept 'em…"

"Why not?"

"Well…i-it's just…I dunno…I don't really think it's something that _friends_ do…"

"And why should that have any bearing on your decision? I've no other way to demonstrate how sorry I am. I present these to you from the bottom of my heart, and I would feel immeasurably grateful if you accepted them."

Sonic paused. In his pseudo-hypnotic state, he looked at Mephiles, then the flowers, then back at Mephiles, then back at the flowers. This went on for half a minute.

"Ah…all right…" said Sonic. "I accept." He snapped out of it and took the flowers.

"Oh, thank you, Sonic!" Mephiles crossed his hands over his heart.

"No…thank you, man! These are probably the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen!"

"Y…you're welcome!"

"There's only one problem…"

Mephiles gulped.

"I don't know how ya kept these alive so long, but they're gonna die unless I feed 'em!" said Sonic. "Hold on, I think I got somethin' here…" After searching around for a few moments, Sonic pulled a water bottle out of one of his pockets. After taking the cap off, he put the flowers in and put the bottle away with a blatant disregard for factors such as "realism" or "not stupid writing".

"There, that oughta do it! Now, ya think we should pick up where we left off?"

"So soon?" queried Mephiles. "I suppose it seems agreeable. However, before we begin, there is something that I must discuss with you…"

"Well, if it's that important, then go ahead! Just sit down and lay it on me!"

"Lay what on you?"

"Whatever it is ya have to say to me, of course!"

"Oh…yes…"

So, Sonic & Mephiles sat down on a nearby boulder. Mephiles recounted his entire tale: how he'd felt lonely even during his days as Solaris, how nobody bothered to befriend him, how he'd been tortured while in limbo, how he'd been having nightmares over the things he'd done…everything.

"…and thus, I lost the ability to regiment my anger."

"So you've been feelin' lonely even before that lab accident?" asked Sonic.

"Yes…" replied Mephiles.

"And ya really were bummed out about everything?"

"Huh?"

"Sorry…I mean 'depressed'."

"Oh…yes…" Mephiles hung his head again.

"Aw man…I don't know what to say…" Sonic brushed his palm across his forehead. "I mean, I feel bad about ditchin' ya now, but I didn't know if you were telling the truth. I was afraid you'd burn me again…I mean, not like what ya tried just a couple of minutes ago, but like…stabbin' me in the back just like at Soleanna, see?"

"It's OK…" Mephiles put his hand on Sonic's shoulder, "…I understand."

"Gee…thanks! I'm glad we can talk about this without gettin' mad at each other!"

"Likewise." The two of them paused for a few moments.

"Actually…I gotta confess," said Sonic. "I still don't trust ya completely."

"Why not?" queried Mephiles.

"Well…it's just…well, I know you're tellin' the truth, and I'm glad you're willin' to turn over a new leaf. However, ya did try to kill me a few times, and I got this feeling I still can't shake."

"Could you elaborate?"

"No…not really." Sonic shrugged. "Ah, maybe part of me's still freaked out about seein' you again. I'm pretty sure it's nothin', though…"

"As I have said before, I understand. I myself am still distraught about being left alone. Furthermore, I…I still find it dreadfully difficult to look at you, knowing what I attempted to do to you."

"Whoa…that sounds real heavy…" said Sonic.

"Yes, it is unbearably burdensome," said Mephiles. "Granted, I am comforted by your acceptance of both me and my gift, and yet, I am still disquieted by those bad memories."

"Hey, that's all in the past! Just take a deep breath, man!"

"And what sort of advantage will that bring me?"

"Trust me, it'll help ya relax! Now, just breathe in…" Sonic took a slow, deep breath. Just as slowly, he breathed out. After a couple of seconds, Mephiles followed Sonic's lead.

"That's it," said Sonic, "…and out. Yeah, now do it again!" After a few moments, he asked, "Feelin' better?"

"A little," replied Mephiles.

"That's it; just relax!" said Sonic. "Just close your eyes…" Both of them did so. "Now, think of somethin' peaceful, like a stream, or a forest at night."

"I shall try."

The two of them sat there, relaxing, taking deep breaths. For a couple of minutes, they had forgotten their troubles. It was almost as if they'd been taken from this forlorn rock and to the places that they were thinking about. Then…

"AAAHHHHHHH! NO!" screamed Mephiles. Sonic opened his eyes.

"Mephiles, what's wrong?" asked Sonic.

"STOP! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!"

Sonic put his hands on Mephiles' shoulders. "Hey, it's all right, man! Nothin's gonna hurt us out here _(I hope)_! Just stay cool and tell me what's buggin' ya!"

"I-i-it was…one of those memories again!" cried Mephiles. "It j-just encroached on my thought process with hardly any warning!"

"Look man, it's only a thought! It's all in the past now! If it helps, ya don't have to close your eyes, but keep goin' with the deep breaths, OK?"

Mephiles let out a sigh of relief. "As you wish."

"Wait…there's one other thing I forgot to take care of…"

"W-what?"

Sonic checked his pockets. "Ah…I knew I had some!" He pulled out some bandages & a spray bottle of disinfectant.

"What do you intend to do with those?"

"I know you're probably immortal and all, but I still wanna patch up those wounds, man. I gotta warn ya though, this might hurt a little." Sonic sprayed some disinfectant on Mephiles.

"OW!" screamed Mephiles. "If you attempt that again, then I will recommence my conflict with you!"

"Hey, take it easy!" said Sonic. "I said it would hurt, but trust me, it's good for ya! I don't want your body parts fallin' off because of some weird disease, ya know?"

"I'm sorry. Please, do continue."

Sonic put a bandage on the spot he just sprayed. He continued patching up Mephiles.

_(Indeed, fate is so ironic…OW!)_ thought Mephiles. _(I can scarcely believe that he is concerned about-OW!-my wellbeing, even after I orchestrated another attempt on his life. I find-OW!-his compassion so overwhelming.)_

After Sonic was done, he decided to patch himself up.

"Might I undertake this for you?" asked Mephiles.

"Hey, that's nice of ya," replied Sonic, "but I can do this myself!"

"Oh no, I insist, Sonic!"

"Look, I dig the kindness, but really, I'm good!"

"As you wish."

When Sonic finished bandaging himself, he asked, "Hey, can ya check to make sure I didn't miss any spots?"

"It would be my pleasure." Mephiles received the bandages & disinfectant from Sonic. There were only a couple of wounds on Ol' Blue's back that he'd been unable to reach by himself.

Once they were bandaged up, Sonic said, "OK, now let's give 'em some time to set!"

So, they sat down continued taking deep breaths. Following Mephiles' lead, Sonic kept his eyes open, too. Actually, it wasn't so much about him following the Dark One's lead as it was about him still mistrusting the demon. Regardless, Mephiles retained his civil behavior, and for close to an hour, they were doing well. Then, Sonic's ear twitched. He also caught something out of the corner of his eye.

"GET DOWN!" Sonic grabbed Mephiles and jumped behind the boulder. By doing that, the two of them managed to avoid being seen by three stealthbots that were flying overhead.

"What was that?" asked Mephiles.

"I'll explain later," replied Sonic. "Let's just say that they're part of a very big problem."

"And what sort of hindrance do they pose to us?"

"Believe me, those turkeys have been causin' me problems for a long time. But let's forget about that for now, eh? Right now, I'm more interested in helpin' ya become a better person, that is…_if_ you're interested in bein' a good person yourself. I already said this once, but I'll say it again: One of my favorite ways to bond with someone is by runnin'! Think ya can keep up with me?"

"Hmmm…" Mephiles stroked his chin. "Well…I feel more energetic than I did when we first reconvened. Even so, I must caution you not to leave me behind again."

"Ain't no thang! I'll be more careful this time!" Sonic gave Mephiles a thumbs up.

"I presume that gesture is a positive response?" said Mephiles.

"Right on! Now come on, let's go!

* * *

And so, Sonic & Mephiles got back to running around. Soon, Mephiles' energy was fully restored, so Sonic could run at super speed again. Having been born from the shadow of the Ultimate Life Form, it was easy for Mephiles to keep up with the Blue Blur. For the first time in his life, Mephiles could actually feel something besides a cold desire to kill or unrelenting remorse. To be precise, he felt a little happy. However, he still seemed aloof, so he was still a way away from actually showing his happiness.

During their run, Mephiles tapped Sonic on the shoulder. Ol' Blue looked over and Mephiles indicated that he wanted to stop, so they did, in the central grasslands.

"What is it, man?" asked Sonic.

"Sonic, is there anything else that we may do?" asked Mephiles.

"Ya don't like runnin' around?"

"Oh no, I find it to be most enthralling, but I cannot possibly do this for the entirety of the day."

"Oh, ya wanna do something else then?"

"Affirmative."

"No no no, you're doin' it wrong, man!" said Sonic. "Ya gotta listen to the way people talk! You don't say 'affirmative' or some nonsense like that! Ya say 'right on!' or 'no problemo!' And if someone starts givin' you a hard time, tell 'em to 'sit on it!' And if ya wanna leave 'em behind, say 'hasta la vista, baby!'"

"Hasta la vista…baby?" Mephiles tilted his head to the side a little. "A curious choice of words."

"Well, Sal told me that not everybody talks like that, but what the hey, I suppose we gotta do our own thing sometimes, right?"

"An interesting opinion, I suppose," said Mephiles.

"Anyways, you can also say 'later, turkey!" said Sonic. "Some people also say 'sayonara, baby', instead. And if someone's flippin' out for no reason, tell 'em 'chill out!' You can also do combinations if ya want!"

"Chill out…turkey."

Sonic started laughing.

"What's so humorous?" asked Mephiles.

"Man, you're a riot! Why didn't I think of that one?" He stopped laughing. "But seriously, man, I think you're gettin' the hang of it! Now, how about we toss the ol' pigskin back and forth?"

"You would toss the membranous casing of a pig back and forth for fun?"

Sonic smacked himself in the face. "Dang it! Sorry about that one. I meant to say 'football'!" He pulled out a football.

"Why would one throw an object meant to be manipulated by the feet?" asked Mephiles.

"No no, there's actually two kinds of football in the world! The one I'm talkin' about lets ya touch the ball with your hands, see?"

"I think so."

"Now come on! Go long!" Sonic prepared to throw the football, but Mephiles just stood there, confused. Seeing this, Sonic motioned for Mephiles to start running. The Dark One understood, so he got going while Sonic threw the football. Mephiles caught it on the first try, after which the Blue Blur ran over.

"All right!" exclaimed Sonic. "Now you try it!"

"Okay…" said Mephiles. Mimicking Sonic's actions, he threw the football while Sonic ran for it. Big Blue caught it with ease despite Mephiles throwing it far.

"Man, that was bomb!" said Sonic. "Let's do that again!"

"As you wish," said Mephiles.

The two of them had plenty of fun playing catch, throwing the ball back and forth under the early summer sun. During the game, Mephiles threw a pass that knocked Sonic down when he caught it, sending him tumbling for a few yards. Ol' Blue survived, though. Not long after, Mephiles came over.

"Geez…where'd ya learn to throw like that!?" exclaimed Sonic. "I feel like I just caught a freight train!"

"Are you injured?" asked Mephiles. "I do apologize for that. Perhaps I've lost the ability to regiment my physical strength, too…" Once again, he looked at his hands.

"Nah, I'm still good." Sonic dusted himself off. "Thanks for checkin' me, though!"

"Oh…no problemo." The two resumed play.

_(I still don't trust him.)_ thought Sonic. _(Well…he seems worried about me, but I'm still watchin' him.)_

After playing catch for a few more minutes, Mephiles felt like doing something else.

"I know just what to do," said Sonic. "Up, over and gone!"


	5. Conflict or Concern

From the grasslands, the hedgehog & demon made their way to Rail Canyon Zone. Thanks to the power of cartoon magic, their bandages & wounds had disappeared by this chapter.

"How are ya doin' so far?" asked Sonic.

"Oh…I suppose my disposition has gotten better," replied Mephiles, staring towards the ground.

"Ya sure? 'Cause ya seem like you're on a bad trip, Mephiles."

"AND WHY IS THIS GERMANE TO THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS!?"

Both of them were shocked by Mephiles' outburst, Mephiles even more so. He held his hands over his…well, wherever his mouth would be. After a few seconds, he grabbed his forehead with his hands.

"S-Sonic…I am so sorry!" said Mephiles. "I did not intend for that to happen!"

"Well, why did ya just blow up like that?" asked Sonic.

"I am unsure. Perhaps I am still bummed out about my past."

Sonic put his hand on Mephiles' shoulder. "Like I said, it's the past! If you're tired or somethin', then I'll let ya have another rest, OK?"

"Yes, I surmise that would be beneficial to me."

Once again, Sonic & Mephiles partook in another session of meditation. For half an hour, the two of them were at peace. Then, that peace was shattered by the loud rumbling of a passing train.

"What was that?" asked Mephiles.

"That is where the really fun part begins!" replied Sonic. "If you're feelin' better, that is."

"Fun?"

"Yeah! Are ya feelin' good enough for it?"

Mephiles looked at his hands. "I suppose so…"

"All right! Check this out!" Sonic got a running start and started grinding on a nearby rail. Naturally, Mephiles followed. However, he wasn't used to this kind of thing, so he nearly lost his balance. Luckily, it didn't take long for him to get the hang of it.

"See!? Isn't this great!?" shouted Sonic.

"I suppose it is…" replied Mephiles. "Sonic, watch out for that train!"

Sonic turned around, and sure enough, a train was coming towards him from the opposite direction. However, he managed to jump out of the way and on top of the train. Mephiles followed suit. When he jumped on, he couldn't help but notice that Sonic was standing on top of the train as if it were a surfboard. Again, Mephiles wasn't used to standing on top of a train, so he found it difficult to stand up, never mind move around. Nevertheless, he held his footing and slowly made his way over to Sonic.

As Mephiles crept ever closer to the Blue Blur, he slowly raised both of his hands. Edging ever closer, a single scene played and replayed itself in his mind. He'd been waiting for this moment; if not for all his life, then for today. Oh Lord, he could feel it coming in the air today. When Mephiles got close enough, he laid his hands on Sonic and…pulled them away once Sonic turned around.

"Sonic…"

"Yeah!?" shouted Sonic.

"Are you sure this is a rational idea!?" asked Mephiles.

"Don't sweat it, Mephiles! I got this!"

"Are you sure!?" Mephiles held his hands out to his side, as he always did. "This feels like an exceedingly parlous method for having fun!"

"Since when do ya care about danger, man!? Life's as extreme as ya wanna make it!"

"Listen, I suggest that we relocate to safer ground!"

"Ground!? No problem! Dig this!" Sonic jumped off the train and fell to the bottom of the canyon.

"SONIC!" After the initial shock wore off, Mephiles forced himself to jump down after Sonic. He hit the ground and survived, but there was no sign of the Blue Blur, so he started calling out for him:

"Sonic!? Sonic!? Where have you gone!?" Since Mephiles got no response, he started looking around for Sonic. Half a minute later, he found Big Blue laying face down on the ground.

"Sonic? Are you still functioning?"

Sonic got up. He only had a few minor cuts & bruises.

"Never been better, man!" Sonic gave Mephiles a thumbs up.

"How did you withstand that?" asked Mephiles. "No ordinary being should have survived without serious injury!"

"Hey, I'm no ordinary being! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, remember?"

"Ah yes, of course." Mephiles did his trademark hand thing again. "However, why is it that you can survive this and yet you cannot survive one of my energy spears?"

"Well, you were usin' some weird, unreal magic! Heck, I can barely take a hit from Shadow's Chaos powers without breakin' any bones!"

"I see. It appears that I made the right decision by choosing to resurrect through his shade."

"What!? I wasn't good enough for ya!?" exclaimed Sonic

"Not necessarily. He just happened to be the most suitable life form available to me at that juncture. I can assume your form if you wish."

"Nah, it's OK, man. Ya look cool just the way you are! Besides, I actually think it's kinda funny to mess with Shadow!"

Mephiles stroked his chin. "Hmmm…I actually do concur with that statement. I find that to be…groovy, if that is the correct term."

"Yep, it sure is!" said Sonic. "Now, let's quit standin' around and let's get surfin'!"

"Very well, then. However, I do hope you're aware of the potential consequences."

"Hey, I survived that jump, didn't I?"

"Indeed. I was only concerned with the integrity of your vital signs."

"Ah, it's OK, Mephiles!" The two of them worked their way back up the canyon.

_(He's worried about my life?)_ thought Sonic on the way up. _(And this is the same dude who killed me once! I guess he really is sorry. However, I'm still not completely sure he's legit…)_

Back at the top of the cliff, Sonic & Mephiles engaged in some more rail grinding, train surfing & cliff jumping. Even after many jumps, the two of them survived mostly intact. When they were done, Sonic patched their wounds, and they climbed back to the top.

"You rock, Mephiles! Gimme five!" Sonic raised his hand, but Mephiles merely tilted his head, being unfamiliar with the concept of high-fiving.

"Oh…right…" said Sonic. "Put your hand up like this." Mephiles did so.

"OK, now bring it in closer," said Sonic. When Mephiles did that, Ol' Blue high-fived him.

"See? Just like that!"

"I see," said Mephiles.

"OK, now you try!" said Sonic. "Up high!" Mephiles gave Sonic his first high-five.

"Down low!" said Sonic. Mephiles tried again, but Sonic pulled his hand away. "Too slow!"

Mephiles growled at Sonic.

"Hey hey hey, mellow out!" said Sonic. "I was only jokin', man!"

"Oh…sorry about that…dude."

"Ah, it's OK. Here!" This time, Sonic didn't pull his hand away when Mephiles attempted a low-five. The Blue Blur spent the next few moments teaching him all sorts of friendly gestures, such as handshakes, fist bumps and more. After all this…

"Sonic…" said Mephiles

"Yeah, pal?" queried Sonic.

"I just recalled: There was a zone that I crossed through during my search for you. If it is 'cool' with you, I wish to accompany you there."

"Sure thing! What zone?"

"I'm not sure of its name. However, I do remember that it was in close proximity to the ocean…"

"Ocean? Well, that narrows things down a bit…"

"Now, let us…" Mephiles trailed off. "…er, what would be an appropriate idiom for our departure?"

"Let's buzz, cuz!" said Sonic.

"Yes, right on!" This time, Sonic let Mephiles go first.

* * *

Despite Mephiles' shaky memory, he finally found the location that he wanted to take Sonic to: Seaside Hill Zone. They stopped at a rocky ledge.

"Hey, I've been here before!" Sonic took a deep breath of sea air. "Yeah…there's nothin' like the smell of fresh ocean air! Dig that scenery, too!"

"Yes, it is far out," said Mephiles. "I never had time to chill and appreciate the scenery back in Soleanna. Perhaps we should admire it a bit more closely…hee hee hee…" Mephiles casually grabbed Sonic's hand and jumped off the cliff, taking Ol' Blue with him.

"GYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sonic flailed around as they were falling, letting go of Mephiles in the process. Once he fell in the water, he sank like a brick, still flailing about. When he hit the bottom, he desperately searched about for an air bubble, but he couldn't find any, so he tried to find a way back up. However, all he could do was flail about frantically and…

Wait…what was this? As Sonic was flailing about mid-jump, he discovered that by waving his arms around in a certain way, he could stay afloat where he was. Surprised, he stopped flailing so wildly and paused for a millisecond. He also discovered that by waving about in a more controlled fashion, he could work his way back up to the surface more easily. At last, he had laid Yuji Naka's false assumption to rest. Yes, Sonic the Hedgehog had finally learned how to swim!

Luckily, Sonic made it back to the surface before drowning. He huffed and puffed and gasped for every last ounce of air. A second later, Mephiles surfaced, decidedly less desperate for air.

"Sonic, are you all right?"

"All right?" Sonic's face was red with anger. "All right!? ALL RIGHT!? I'LL GIVE YA 'ALL RIGHT', YOU PUTZ!" Sonic shoved Mephiles under the water and held him there for thirty seconds. All that time, the demon flailed about, and when Sonic brought him back up, he too gasped for air.

"Sonic…what are you doing!?" cried Mephiles.

"You tried to drown me, didn't ya!?" said Sonic.

"N-n-no…I w-wasn't at-t-t-tempting to c-c-c-commit such an uncool action!"

"What a load of garbage! I knew I had a bad feeling about ya!"

"Y-you as-s-sumed that I was attempting to b…betray you?"

"Assumed!? Heck, I knew it right from the beginning!" Sonic dunked Mephiles again.

"NO, SONIC…!" was all Mephiles could manage before he was submerged. Luckily, Sonic pulled him up after ten seconds.

"S-s-s-sonic…please! St-t-t-top d-doing this to m-me!"

"I tell ya what," said Sonic, "Tell me why ya did it and maybe I'll let you off the hook!"

"I-it was a joke!" replied Mephiles. "I n- never intended to backstab you at all! I-I can attest to this!"

"A joke? A JOKE!? Listen here, pal: I could've been killed because of your stupid joke!"

Mephiles clasped his hands together. "I'm sorry! I implore you, don't asphyxiate me!"

"Listen, man, you just can't go around shovin' people off of cliffs! What if I drowned!? I can't even swim, for cryin' out loud!"

"Then how are you presently afloat?"

Sonic let go of Mephiles. "Oh…right…I guess I forgot about that."

After a moment of awkward silence, Sonic said: "Hey…I'm sorry I tried to drown ya, Mephiles. Thing is…I always had trouble swimmin' before today, and falling in the water just brought back some bad memories, ya know?"

"There's no obligation for you to apologize," said Mephiles. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I now understand that what I did was totally bogus, and I shall endeavor to be more careful about playing jokes on people."

"You swear on it?"

"Oh no, I think it would be indecorous to use foul language in this situation."

Sonic facepalmed again. "Oy vey! That's _not_ what I was talkin' about, pal."

"Sonic, please have a little more patience. My memory is still somewhat impaired."

"Oh, sorry man! I guess that slipped…BWAH!" Sonic sunk. Fortunately, Mephiles caught him quickly and brought him back up.

"Thanks, dude!" said Sonic. "Gee…I must've been payin' so much attention to this conversation that I forgot to keep myself afloat!"

"No problemo," said Mephiles.

"So anyways, raise your hand like this…"

Mephiles did so.

"Now…" said Sonic "…repeat after me: 'I swear I won't pull any pranks that could get my friends killed without checkin' with them first.'"

"I swear I will not pull any pranks that could get my friends killed without checking with them first."

"OK, gimme five!" They did so.

"Hey, why don't we just mellow out and swim for a while?" asked Sonic.

"I would fancy that."

And so, the hedgehog & demon swam around in the cool ocean water, something that might not have been possible were it not for Sonic & his merry band of Freedom Fighters. Speaking of Ol' Blue, he was only too enthusiastic to try out his newfound swimming skills. However, he was still light years away from becoming a top-notch synchronized swimmer…dang it, light years isn't time! It measures distance!

Eventually, Mephiles swam up to Sonic and tapped him on the back.

"Pardon me, Sonic…

"Yeah?" queried Sonic.

"Am I worthy of your trust yet?" asked Mephiles.

"Hmmm…that's a pretty hard question. So far, I like how you've been willin' to hang out with me and not kill me. On the other hand, puttin' aside that huge fight we had, ya nearly drowned me. I know it was just an accident, and I know ya swore not to do it again, but I'm still a bit jumpy."

"So what are you saying?"

"Well, you're almost there, but I just have one final…HEADS UP!" Sonic dove underwater and took Mephiles with him. By doing that, they managed to avoid being seen by three stealthbots that were flying overhead. Once Sonic was confident that they'd passed, he resurfaced with Mephiles.

"S-Sonic…w-why did you do that?"

"Hey, sorry if I freaked you out!" said Sonic. "I just didn't want those stealthbots to know we were here!"

"Stealthbots?" queried Mephiles.

"Yeah, like we saw back at the plains, remember?"

Mephiles scratched his head for a moment.

"Ah yes…I recall witnessing those."

"Anyways, I just have one more thing: a final test!

"A final test?"

"Yeah, just to prove you're solid. Come on, I'll give ya the lowdown on the way!"

After getting back to dry land, Mephiles followed Sonic to wherever the final test was.

* * *

**Will Mephiles prove himself? Or has Sonic bought himself a one-way ticket to oblivion? Find out in the next exciting chapter!**


	6. Ruminations & Revelations

**AN: Well, I must say, I would never have believed that any of my stories would gain all the followers that this one did! Many thanks for the support! Now, let us get on with the next chapter, shall we?**

* * *

To be precise, the final test would take place at the filthy industrial scumhole of Eggopolis, formerly Emerald City. This was the home base of Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, mad scientist extraordinaire, conqueror of the Kingdom of Mobius, blah blah blah…one of the world's most wanted villains. At this moment, he was in one of the conference rooms of his HQ, having a meeting with some of his henchmen – including Snively, Scratch & Grounder. Here, he was discussing his latest plan, while a hologram projector in the center of the table was giving a slideshow.

"Gentlemen & machinery," said Robotnik, "we may have had numerous failures in the past, but soon, the Eggman Empire will expand beyond the borders of Mobius! Our only caveat is this: After extensive research, I have discovered a drawback related to robotization: If roboticized, a person will seize up and stop functioning after a few days unless fed a steady diet of oil and other such fluids." The projector displayed some rather gruesome images of roboticized Mobians who were all rusted & seized up.

Robotnik continued: "Unfortunately for us, the world's supply of oil is quite limited and non-renewable, and as much as I never thought I'd be saying this, I care about this very much. Thus, rather than gaining dominance through robotization, I've had to resort to more organic methods. Fortunately, I have finally found the perfect solution to our problem! Behold…"

Robotnik removed the tarp from a mysterious machine sitting off to one side. The device was cube-shaped and as large as two tables.

"…The Egg-O-Matic Peanut Butter Deceitifier! Now, what does it do, you ask? Simple: It converts ordinary peanut butter into a devious mind control serum! Soon, we shall control all of the world's peanut butter, and when we control the peanut butter, we control the world! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Any questions?"

Snively raised his hand.

"Sir, why not do some research into making a longer-lasting and renewable lubricant?" he asked.

"Snively, why not do some research into SHUTTING YOUR IMBECILIC MOUTH!?"

"EEP! Y…yes sir…"

"Uh…Your Nastiness…" said Grounder.

"What is it, Bolt Brain!?" snapped Robotnik.

"…I like peanut butter! I don't wanna eat that crazy mind control stuff!"

"You're a robot, ya dummy!" said Scratch. "We don't even need to eat!"

"Aw, shut up!" Grounder slapped Scratch.

"SILENCE!" shouted Robotnik. "I assure you, we'll have our own private stock of unadulterated peanut butter! Not even that horrid hedgehog or his foolish friends will be able to get their hands on it!"

"Did somebody call for me?" asked Sonic.

Robotnik pounded his fists on the table. "WHAT!? I should've known you'd be meddling in my affairs!" He pointed to Mephiles. "And who are you!?"

"Have you forgotten me, Dr. Eggman? I'm Mephiles…Mephiles the Dark. Sonic helped to refresh my memory. Yes…he's told me so much about you, about how you attempted to take advantage of me for your own avaricious ends. You never were different from any of them, were you, Doctor? My former self would have been cool with your plan, but unfortunately for you, I have had a revelation. I once was lost, but now, I am found! Surrender now, jive turkey! Or are you so blind that you will not see?"

"That's enough out of you! ATTACK!" Robotnik's henchmen started attacking Sonic & Mephiles, while the Doctor himself retreated and went to get his Eggmobile. In no time flat, what had once been a nice, orderly meeting had turned into a battlefield. Sonic knocked down a bunch of SWATbots with homing attacks, while Mephiles fired some energy blasts at some E-1000s, including a few that were locked on to Sonic. During the battle, the Egg-O-Matic Peanut Butter Deceitifier caught Mephiles' attention. He got the feeling that this might be part of the test.

"Hasta la vista, baby." Using another energy blast, Mephiles destroyed the machine. With the job finished, the hedgehog & demon fled Robotnik's HQ, destroying more badniks on the way. By the time Robotnik got back to the conference room, it was too late.

"I HATE THOSE HEDGEHOGS!" yelled Robotnik. In his haste to pursue the two heroes, he completely ignored his top henchmen.

"WAIT FOR ME!" Snively ran after Robotnik, leaving Scratch & Grounder behind, dismembered yet still functioning.

"Hey Scratch, when do we get our peanut butter?" asked Grounder.

"You idiot, there is no peanut butter!" replied Scratch.

* * *

At the outskirts of Eggopolis, Mephiles asked Sonic to stop.

"Sonic, have I earned your trust yet?"

"OK, you seem legit, so I guess you have!" replied Sonic. "It's always good to have someone else messin' with Robuttnik's operations!"

"I see. Where do we go from here?"

"First, we gotta lay low for a bit! Up, over and gone!"

* * *

Sonic & Mephiles made tracks to Aquatic Ruin Zone, which had plenty of hiding places – provided that one knew where to look, of course. Ol' Blue sure knew, too. The two took cover in an old stone bunker, while a few stealthbots & hover units crossed the skies above.

"How long must we remain ensconced here?" asked Mephiles.

"Dunno," said Sonic. "Trust me, these guys will give up sooner or later."

"Better that they give up sooner. It would be a grievous blunder for them to engage us again."

"You said it, dude!"

The forces off the Eggman Military kept up the search for quite a while. Even Robotnik himself got in on the search. However, even with a thorough ground search, they just couldn't find Sonic & Mephiles, so they headed back to base.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic & Mephiles headed to the grasslands just outside of Aquatic Ruin Zone. Sonic decided to stop here.

"What are we settling down here for?" asked Mephiles.

Sonic sat down. "That's just what we're doin' – chillin' out!" He laid down on the nice, soft grass, laying his head in his hands. Mephiles followed his lead and laid down right next to him.

"Ahhhhhh…there's nothing like relaxin' after all that runnin' around! Nothin' like that blue sky, either! Don't you agree, Mephiles?"

"Yes, this is delightful…OW! However, I do have one issue with this…"

"What?"

"How can you tolerate lying down in this position? Do the quills on your back not bother you at all?"

"Yeah, it kinda hurts to lie down like this, but after a while, ya get used to it. Trust me!"

"Speak for yourself," said Mephiles. "You seem as though you've had upwards of ten years in order to become accustomed to this."

"How did ya know?" asked Sonic.

"A very educated deduction. In your terms, I suppose one might say that I got that kind of 'vibe' from you."

"That a fact?"

"No, it was a mere inference."

"Actually, you're not too far off: I'm 15."

"Then I suppose it was accurate."  
"Well, it don't exactly take a rocket scientist to guess someone's age. Now how 'bout you, man? How old are ya?"

"My current form is ten years old. However, if you factor in the period when I lived under the guise of Solaris, then my age escalates exponentially. Even I have forgotten my exact age."

"Whoa, that's heavy," said Sonic. "Now, what about your birthday? Do ya still remember that or did that slip your mind, too?"

"Alas, that has also 'slipped my mind'," replied Mephiles. "The best approximation I had was the Festival of the Sun. It was outta sight, but I'm sure you know this just as well as I do."

"Yeah, that was the jam! Too bad Robuttnik had to screw it all up…"

"Speaking of which…you've told me so much about him, but there is something that you've yet to tell me…"

"What?"

"Why did he turn malevolent?"

"I dunno, man," replied Sonic. "My friends and I…we've heard so many stories about him that we're not sure which ones are true anymore. All I know is that when I was five, he took over this country and messed a lot of things up. I didn't have anybody to take care of me, so I had to fend for myself. Remember how ya told me about how bad you had it?"

"Yes?" said Mephiles.

"I had it real bad back then, too. Sometimes, I would just lie on the ground and cry my eyes out. Well…that was before I started kickin' butt. I try not to think about that time too much. Instead, I just try to look on the bright side…look ahead, ya know?"

"That's rather easy for you to say. My existence hasn't been much more than loneliness and torture."

Sonic pointed his palm at Mephiles. "Easy now, man! Forget about all that! Everything's gonna be OK! I mean, things have been OK for us for a while now, ya know?"

"Oh…I suppose you are correct," said Mephiles. "My experience with you has been quite rad so far, Sonic."

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "That's the spirit, man!"

Mephiles returned the gesture. "Amen to that!"

"So, anyways…" said Sonic, "Thanks for helpin' me learn how to swim, Mephiles!"

"And thank you for teaching me about slang & celebratory gestures," said Mephiles. "I only wish I had been able to research these earlier. Now that I think about it, I wonder if the people of Soleanna ever possessed any similar customs."

"Yeah, they kinda did the same things."

"That a fact? Well, I never would have discovered such a thing had I not been broken away from Iblis."

"Hey, that reminds me…"

"Yes?"

"How come you're still alive and kickin', dude? Didn't we wipe the floor last time we saw ya? I mean, I still remember all the stuff that happened, but none of it really happened now, did it? Plus, the Princess…"

"No no, Sonic." Mephiles waved his finger at him. "You merely expunged the events themselves from existence. I can never truly be iced so long as I possess a link to _him_."  
"A link? Who?"

"Yes. Just as an ocean has a river, or a sibling has a parent, everything has a link. Now, you may recall that I was engendered through the shadow of Shadow the Hedgehog…"

Sonic started laughing.

"What is so funny now?" asked Mephiles.

Sonic stopped laughing. "Sorry, man! I couldn't help thinkin' about how funny 'Shadow's shadow' sounds!"

"And why is that so whimsical?"

"Eh…it's just some wordplay thing. Sorry if I ticked you off! Please, keep goin', man."

"Very well. Being that I materialized from his shade, I share a link with Shadow the Hedgehog. Therefore, as long as he remains alive, so too shall my existence continue."

Sonic scratched his head. "So let me get this straight: You're sayin' that ya can't die because you copied Shadow?"

"More than that, he was the first dude I copied after being disconnected from Iblis."

"Ah…I get it now!"

"As for Iblis, I've not the slightest idea of where he is hanging out. My conjecture is that he's been linked to Silver's buddy. Ah…but that's inconsequential to me now; I always considered you far more important."

"Hey, I remember you sayin' that ya wanted a friend, and I know we already went over all the whys & whens & whatever, but I gotta ask: Am I really _that_ important to ya?"

"Yes," replied Mephiles. "Granted, I would've been cool had anyone agreed to become my friend, but I knew you were exceptional the moment I laid eyes upon you. Sonic…thank you for your amnesty."

"You're welcome!" said Sonic. "I can get to that! Now, how about we get up and get goin'?"

"Not yet. I wish to appreciate the blue sky for a few minutes more. I believe that I've almost gotten used to lying down in this pose. Also, I have another inquiry for you…"

"Well, lay it on me!"

"I've always speculated as to why I rarely witnessed anyone like you or your compatriots in Soleanna prior to the day of that incident. Why is that the case?"

"Like me or my friends _how_?"

"Well, you clearly exhibit human characteristics, and yet none of you are human…"

_(Heh, I should be insulted by that,)_ thought Sonic, _(but that was probably the best way he could explain it, so I can dig it…)_

"I dunno, man," said Sonic. "I think some places just have more humans than others. Like, there aren't a lotta humans in Mobius, see?"

"Yes, I understand," replied Mephiles. "I should also like to ask: What appellations do you & your buddies use to denote yourselves?"

"Well, aside from animal names like 'hedgehog', 'fox', 'rabbit' and so on, people have all sorts of words for guys like me: 'humanoid animal', 'manimal', 'anthro', 'furry', etc… However, my friends & I, we don't use fancy words like those. We just call ourselves 'men', 'women', 'dudes', 'guys', 'ladies'…whatever! I mean, we can do pretty much anything that humans can do, so as far as we're concerned, we're just as human as everybody else! Heck, I don't think I should be treated differently just because I don't look human, and neither do my friends, ya know?"

"Wow…that's an…intriguing attitude. I never imagined that anyone possessed such notions. Actually, I must confess: For a long time, I found humans to be…contemptible. Granted, I appreciated it when they laid gifts on me and venerated me. However, because none of them would befriend me, I began to grow a certain…disdain towards them. It came to the point where I didn't care if they all perished or not. Nevertheless, I tolerated their presence…that is…until the Solaris Project kicked off. From that point forwards, I decided to exact my revenge on all humankind. Even now, I still despise humans very much."

"Look, I don't dig racism, but I understand your feelings, man. There are still humans who hate guys like us, but believe me, not all of 'em are bad. In fact, I've met a lotta humans in my lifetime and a lotta them were kind to me. I'm sure they'll be kind to ya, too! Still, like I said, if you're havin' trouble gettin' over that, I understand."

"Perhaps you are correct, Sonic. However, as you once said, I cannot shake that sentiment. Oh…cursed past…"

"Hey, remember what I said: Never mind what happened in the past! Just think of the bright side! Also, if ya need any help, I'll be here for you!"

"Yes…of course," said Mephiles. "That is extraordinarily thoughtful of you!

"Ain't no thang!" said Sonic.

As per Mephiles' request, the two of them lay down in the cool grass for just a couple minutes more, watching the clouds go by as a gentle, cool breeze caressed their quills. Then, Sonic noticed Mephiles get up.

"Satisfied?" asked Sonic.

"Quite," replied Mephiles.

"That's cool! Since ya earned my trust, it's time I took ya to meet a few more of my friends. Gotta shake, Jake!"


	7. Questioning Answers

**AUTHOR'S DISCLAIMER:** The "Hand Jive" has nothing to do with what you think it is.

* * *

Sonic ended up taking Mephiles back to Knothole.

"So, here we are…home sweet home!" said Sonic.

"This is where you reside?" queried Mephiles.

"Well…one place, anyways. Come on, I'll show you around!" First, Sonic showed him all the living quarters, although they didn't actually go in any of them. At this point, Tails came by.

"Hi Sonic…" Then, Tails noticed Mephiles. "Sonic, look out!"

"Mellow out, Tails! He's on our side now!"

"Right on," said Mephiles.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Tails. "That guy killed you once, remember?"

"Yeah, but he says he's sorry," replied Sonic.

"Pardon me…" said Mephiles. "Tails, if I may, I also wish to extend my apologies to you. Sonic told me that you are especially dear to his heart, and as I once expounded to him, I felt totally sorry for terminating him. Can you forgive me?"

Tails paused for a few seconds.

"I don't know…" he said. "I mean…Sonic is my best friend, and it just feels weird to be talking with someone who killed him…"

"It's OK, lil' buddy!" said Sonic. "I felt the same way when I first saw him again, too!"

"I assure you, I have ditched my criminal habits," said Mephiles. "Furthermore, I had been slapped with a harsh sentence, a debt which I have reimbursed in full. All I seek now is forgiveness."

Tails scratched his head for a few moments. Then…

"All right…I forgive you."

"Thank you, Tails," said Mephiles. "I am most grateful." He extended his arm to Tails, requesting a handshake. The Two-Tailed Wonder accepted and shook Mephiles' hand.

"Well…you're welcome!" said Tails.

"Decent!" said Sonic. "Check ya later, Tails!"

"You too!"

Moving on, Sonic showed Mephiles the workshop. However, protocol forbade Big Blue from letting strangers in without clearance, so they couldn't go inside. As the two strode over to the garden, they encountered Rotor Walrus.

"Hey there, Sonic!" he said. "Oh, hi Shadow, what brings you over here?"

"Pardon me, but I believe you have confused me for somebody else. Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Mephiles…Mephiles the Dark."

"Nice to meet you! The name's Walrus, Rotor Walrus."

"It is an honor to meet you." The two of them shook hands.

"I think Sonic's told me about you before," said Rotor. "Who are you again?"

In response, Sonic & Mephiles explained everything.

"Oh…right!" said Rotor. "Hey Sonic, are you absolutely sure this guy's OK?"

"Right on!" replied Sonic. "He even helped me beat Robuttnik! Isn't that right, man?"

"Yes, it was way past cool," replied Mephiles.

"OK…I believe you," said Rotor. "Just knock before you enter the workshop, OK?"

"Noted and understood," replied Mephiles.

So, the Blue Blur & the Dark One went back across the bridge. At this point, Antoine Depardieu/D'Coolette bumped into Mephiles…literally.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Antoine. "A G-G-G-G-G-GHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSST!" He started running around like crazy, babbling.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Mephiles.

"That's Antoine," replied Sonic. "Don't worry about him; he flips out over everything!" Then, Sonic shouted: "Hey Ant, chill out! It's not a ghost!"

Antoine paused, shivering.

"S-s-s-sacre bleu!" he said, with his hands over his head. "W…whoever y-y-you are, d-d-do not hurting m…me!"

"I assure you, I will not injure you," said Mephiles. "I come in peace, man."

Antoine calmed down. "Oh? And who are you supposing to be?"

"My name is Mephiles. You must be Antoine, are you not?"

"Oui, that is true. 'Ave I pet you before?"

"It's 'met', Ant!" said Sonic.

"Ah, but of course!" said Antoine. "Now, would you peas to explaining who you are?"

Once again, Sonic & Mephiles gave him the rundown.

"You 'ave kilted Sonic?" queried Antoine. "Then why is 'ee talkings to us now? Maybe Sonic is…OH NO! Sonic is the goat! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Antoine ran away.

"He seems…insane," said Mephiles.

"It's OK," said Sonic. "He may not be all that brave, but he's got plenty of spirit!"

"I see. Where shall we go next?"

"I know exactly where we're goin' next!

* * *

Sonic took Mephiles to the meeting house. There were a bunch of folding chairs & tables leaning against one wall.

"This is our meeting house," said Sonic. "We use it for a bunch of things: Council meetings, battle prep, parties, etc…"

"Parties, you say?" queried Mephiles.

"Aw yeah! Sometimes, after a long day, I just like to get up and get down! It's even better with friends, too!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Well…Shadow says this isn't somethin' one dude should do with another dude, but hey, ya know, that's just like…uh…his opinion, man!"

"I agree with you, Sonic." _(Hmmm…Shadow seems close-minded,)_ thought Mephiles._ (However, I still find him to be very attractive.)_

Sonic pressed a green button on the wall, causing a small DJ booth to appear from the floor. Then, he turned on the decks, let them warm up a bit and put on a record. It was "Willie and the Hand Jive", as covered by Rinder & Lewis. With the record playing, Sonic went to the floor and started doing some disco dance moves, b-boy moves, plus the titular Hand Jive. Mephiles just stood there.

"What an interesting composition…" said Mephiles.

"Come on, man!" exclaimed Sonic. "Shake it!"

Mephiles still stood there, scratching his head. "I'm sorry, but I am unfamiliar with this custom."

"Hey, don't worry! Just get with your own groove; It'll come to ya!"

"All right…" After a brief warm-up, Mephiles started dancing. His moves were light & graceful, like those of a ballerina. Despite the fact that his moves weren't typical disco dance moves, Mephiles kept in time with the music. Both he & Sonic had an enjoyable time partying.

After the song ended, Sonic asked, "Whoa…where'd ya learn moves like those?"

"I taught myself," replied Mephiles. "Weren't those gnarly?"

"Well, I gotta say, those were some pretty odd moves ya had there, but I think ya got it!"

"I see. I dig the compliment."

"Ain't no thang! Now, if you'll excuse me, all this gettin' down is makin' me hungry! I'm gonna fix some grub!"

"I shall join you, then."_ (Grub?) _thought Mephiles. _(Curious…)_

* * *

After Sonic put away the record & retracted the DJ booth, he & Mephiles went over to the picnic area. On their way, they encountered Bunnie Rabbot.

"Howdy, Sugar-Hog!" Then, she turned to Mephiles. "Golly, Shadow, y'all look sicker than a dog!"

Mephiles raised his fists.

"I have had quite enough of…"

"Whoa…easy there, bud!" said Sonic.

Mephiles lowered his fists. "Yes…sorry. Young maiden, I am not Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Well, y'all sure had me hornswoggled!" said Bunnie.

"Allow me to give a proper introduction: My name is Mephiles…Mephiles the Dark. I have merely taken on the corporeal form of Shadow."

"Nice to meet ya! Name's Bunnie!"

"I am honored, Miss Bunnie." Mephiles kissed Bunnie's hand, causing her to blush.

"Aw, shucks!" said Bunnie.

"By the way, might I get the skinny on why most of your limbs have been replaced with cybernetic equivalents?" asked Mephiles. Sonic elbowed him and wagged his finger at him.

"Oh…my bad…" said Mephiles.

"Aw, don't worry!" said Bunnie. "I get that a lot. I s'pose I'm used to it by now…"

"Well, I do hope you receive a remedy for your condition."

"Me too. Thanks for thinkin' about me, though!"

"Ain't no thang," said Mephiles.

Bunnie chuckled. "Sonic, this guy's gettin' to take after you!"

"Yeah, he & I have become real good friends today!" said Sonic.

"Indeed," said Mephiles.

"Wait…I remember this guy now!" exclaimed Bunnie. "Ain't he the one that had ya pushin' up daisies once?"

"Ah, that's all in the past!" replied Sonic. "This guy's turned over a new leaf!"

"Yes, quite correct," said Mephiles. "Believe me, Mademoiselle, I regret burning him very much. Until I acknowledged the sinfulness of my actions, the memory of that day caused me mondo excruciating pain."

"Aw, I know how y'all feel, darlin'. These here robot limbs have been stressin' me out, too. I'm just glad the Sugar-hog and his pals are here for me!"

Suddenly, Mephiles found himself overtaken by that sensation again. For the…what was it, the third? Fourth? The Dark One didn't feel like counting, but anyways, upon hearing Bunnie's words, he felt like he wanted to cry. The very thought of having no friends to comfort him was too painful. Nevertheless, he kept his cool as best as he could.

"I…see," said Mephiles. "I'm grateful for your sympathy. I wish you the best of luck, Mademoiselle."

"Golly, y'all are too kind!" said Bunnie. "Y'all are welcome to come by anytime ya like! Don't be a stranger now!"

"I shall try."

"OK, let's get goin'!" said Sonic. "Catch ya on the flip side, Bunnie!"

"You too!" Sonic & Mephiles carried on. At the picnic area, Sonic noticed that Mephiles was hanging his head again.

"Mephiles, are you OK? What's buggin' ya?"  
"Oh, it is nothing," replied Mephiles. "I presume I should feel so fortunate compared to others."

"Take it easy, man! I got somethin' that'll really cheer you up!" Sonic cooked up a batch of chili dogs for himself & Mephiles. At first, Mephiles picked one up and eyed it curiously.

"What is this?" he asked. "Is it a…food?

"It's a chili dog!" said Sonic. "These things are dy-no-mite!"

"Well, I do not require food to maintain my life force, but I shall eat some of these 'chili dogs' with you."

"Gotcha." While Sonic was content to gobble his down like a competitive eater, Mephiles started off slowly, taking a long, dramatic sniff of his first chili dog, and then taking a small bite of it.

"This…this is a most scintillating foodstuff!" said Mephiles. For the first time today, he was actually beaming with happiness. Well…he was doing his best considering he had no visible mouth. "What an awesome interweaving of flavors & textures! Thank you very much, Sonic!"

Sonic was quite surprised to see that Mephiles was actually displaying such an emotion, so he stopped eating for a bit.

"No problemo!" said Sonic.

"Might I trouble you for the recipe?" asked Mephiles

"Go ahead! I'm always happy to share, man!" Sonic whipped out a pen & paper and proceeded to write down his world famous chili dog recipe:

**CHILI DOGS A LA SONIC:**

Brown 1 lb ground beef

Add ½ cup each of chopped onions, peppers and mushrooms (brown lightly)

Add 1 large can of crushed tomatoes

Add 8 oz of barbecue sauce

Simmer ½ hour

Add 1 teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin, oregano

Add 1 large can of red kidney beans (drained)

Simmer 1 hour

Add hot dogs

Cook 15 minutes in sauce

Put on toasted roll

(melted cheese optional)

Enjoy!

"Here ya go!" said Sonic.

"Thank you, man!" said Mephiles.

Sonic opened his mouth, but paused when something crossed his mind: "Wait a second…how do ya manage to eat with no mouth?"

"Hmmm…I have never questioned that aspect of by body. After all, I am grateful just to be capable of that."

Just then, Sally approached the two.

"Hi Sonic, what's…" She took notice of Mephiles. "Sonic, what is _he_ doing here!?"

"Easy, Sal!" replied Sonic. "He's with us!"

"So, you must be Princess Sally," said Mephiles. "Sonic has told me about you before. I must confess, you are even lovelier than I had first envisaged."

Sally blushed when she heard this. Sonic would have given Mephiles a dirty look, but he decided to let this comment pass.

"Sonic, I don't trust him," said Sally. "Are you sure it's OK to bring him here?"

Sonic put a hand up. "Relax, Sal! He proved himself; he's cool!"

"Right on." Mephiles gave a thumbs up. "I am indeed legit."

"I don't know; I'm still not convinced."

"Then let me recount my tale…" Mephiles told Sally the same thing he told Sonic: about how he was gripped by the stranglehold of loneliness, about how he regretted killing Sonic and felt bad for everything he did, about how Shadow prevented him from turning over a new leaf right then and there, all of that.

"Wow…I never realized you felt that way…" said Sally. "Wait…this can't be true…this has to be too good…"

"Chill out, babe!" said Sonic. "I know for sure it's real! He even stopped Robuttnik!"

"But Sonic, you don't understand! From what I've always known, Mephiles was a cold, manipulative individual who only cared for destruction! Your other friends even confirmed this!"

"Come on, Sal! I spent all day tryin' to help this guy out! If ya start blowin' him off now, there's no tellin' what he's gonna do!"

"Sonic is quite correct," said Mephiles. "It would be in your best interests to accept me. I implore you, lend me your encouragement."

Sally remained silent for a few moments. Then, she said: "Mephiles, I'd like to believe you; I really would. However, you did kill Sonic, and you did try to destroy the world, and that's not something I can forget about so easily."

"Oh, so you have no confidence in me?" asked Mephiles.

"Well…no."

"And why ever not?"

"Besides the fact that you once killed somebody who meant a lot to me and tried to destroy the world, you haven't given me much proof that you've changed."

Mephiles held his hands out again. "Mademoiselle, if I had not given up my evil inclinations, then the world would've been eradicated yesterday. Is that proof sufficient for you?"

"I'm sorry, but that's still not good enough," replied Sally.

"Why not?" Mephiles lowered his hands and silently clenched his fists under the table.

"Yeah, why not?" asked Sonic. "I know how ya feel, Sal. Believe me, he's not jivin' us!"

"And how do you know, Sonic?"

"Hey, didn't I say I spent all day with him?"

"Yes, but…" Sally turned to Mephiles. "Mephiles…I'll have to submit you to a lie detector test. I really want to believe you, but I have to make sure I can believe you, see?"

"Yes…" said Mephiles, "…I see how it is. I see quite unmistakably that deep within your soul, you bear a fervent hatred towards me!"

"I don't hate you; I just need to know that you're telling the truth, that's all."

"Is it? Is that really all…or have you cooked up a plan to subjugate me for good!?"

"No, I promise you I haven't done that. Now, will you please take the lie detector test?"

"AHA!" Mephiles pointed his finger at Sally. "You contend that my affirmations were invalid as evidence, and yet you engage in the very same jive yourself! You are conspiring against me, ain't you!?"

Sally put her hands on her hips. "Ugh…enough arguing! Please, take the test!"

"Sit on it, lady!"

Sally gasped. "Oh…you did NOT just say that to me!"

"Oh, yes I did!" said Mephiles. "I am far more powerful than you! Therefore, I can say anything I wish!"

"Listen, if you're not going to cooperate with me, then I'm going to take drastic action!" said Sally. "You're already asking for trouble just by coming here!"

"HA! Your words haven't an ounce of fortitude! I could annihilate your…"

Sonic stepped in. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! WHOA! Hold it! Hold it! HOLD IT!"

Mephiles & Sally stopped arguing and paid attention to Sonic.

"Look," said the Blue Blur, "we're not gettin' anywhere fast with this! Sal, you got every right to be mad. Mephiles, trust me; if ya take the lie detector test, then everything will be cool, ya dig?"

"Ah, I see that you too are participating in the conspiracy, Sonic!" said Mephiles.

"No, i-it's not like that…"

"Oh, but it IS like that! You had your misgivings about me from the very beginning, didn't you!? You never really desired to have me as a pal!"

"Y-yes I did!"

"LIES!" Mephiles grabbed Sonic by the collar. "You attempted to manipulate me into accepting you with the purpose of ensnaring me in another trap! You wanted to ditch me forevermore because you could never tolerate the presence of the one who defeated the famous Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Mephiles, please…mellow out, man! We don't wanna hurt you! If you're tellin' the truth, then you got nothin' to fear…honest! Now let me go!"

Sonic & Mephiles stared each other down for what seemed like hours, but couldn't have been much more than 10 seconds. In the end, the Dark One couldn't help but get that feeling when he stared into Sonic's eyes.

"Oh…you're right…" Mephiles let Sonic go. "It's useless to impede the test. Princess, please do as you wish. I suppose it can hardly be more excruciating than the Solaris Project…"

"OK then." Sally relaxed her stance. "Now, here's how this test will work: First, I'm going to attach a sensor to your forehead. Then, I'll ask a series of basic questions to get you started. Finally, I'll ask some critical questions about you & Sonic. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, quite" replied Mephiles.

"Good. Now, let's go over the questions…"

After informing Mephiles of the questions she wished to ask, Sally asked, "Do you have any further questions or concerns?"

"None at all," replied Mephiles. "I have no doubts as to what this inquisition entails."

Sally took out NICOLE. "NICOLE, initiate lie detector program."

"Initiating," said NICOLE.

Mephiles stroked his chin. "That is a freaky device you have there. Might I inquire as to where you obtained it?"

"My parents made it for me. Look, we don't have time for small chat right now; we must focus on the test, OK?

"Very well."

"Please attach biorhythm sensor now," said NICOLE. Mephiles tilted his head slightly out of curiosity. Sally held his head still and attached the sensor. In this day & age, she didn't need no stinkin' wires.

"Just relax and put your arms on the table," said Sally. Mephiles did so, and Sally sat down, facing him.

"Begin questioning," said NICOLE.

"What is your full name?" asked Sally.

"Mephiles the Dark."

Naturally, NICOLE didn't respond.

"Where were you born?"

"I don't remember."

Again, still no response from NICOLE. Sally appeared somewhat puzzled, but she continued with her questions anyways.

"How old are you?"

"I don't remember that, either."

Still no response.

"Where are you from?"

"Originally, I resided in the Kingdom of Soleanna."

After a few more of these basic questions, Sally got to the nitty-gritty. By now, some of Knothole's villagers had stopped by to see what all the fuss what was about. Mephiles paid no attention to them.

"Did you plan – in advance – to kill Sonic the Hedgehog?" asked Sally.

"Yes" replied Mephiles.

No response.

"How long had you been planning to kill Sonic?"

"Ten years."

Finally, NICOLE made a buzzing noise.

"It's not entirely false," said Mephiles. "Initially, he was not a participant in my little stratagem; anybody who had a substantial emotional connection with Princess Elise would have sufficed."

NICOLE calmed down.

"Did you ever feel bad about killing Sonic?" asked Sally.

"Yes." replied Mephiles.

No response.

"How bad?"

"Very much so."

Again, nothing.

"Why did you come back to Sonic?"

"Because I was exceptionally lonely and yearned for a friend.

Zip.

"Why did you want Sonic to be your friend?"

"Because I believed that he would be willing to forgive me for my villainous activities."

Zero.

"After you met Sonic again, did you have any desire to kill him?"

"No."

Nada.

"Did you, at any point after meeting Sonic again, attempt to kill him?"

"No."

NICOLE buzzed again.

"Well…not intentionally…"

NICOLE kept buzzing.

"All right, I confess!" Mephiles gripped his head in his hands. "I attempted to ice him because he continually deserted me! I was merely enraged at the time, and I don't ever wish to perform or ponder such a thing again! Please, stop the test!"

Sonic sat down beside Mephiles and put his hands on the demon's arm. "Whoa, don't freak out, man! It's all in the past, remember?"

"Princess, please…don't harm me!" said Mephiles. "I'm sorry! I will never, ever inflict injury on him again! Please, just finish this investigation!"

Despite the Dark One's agitation, NICOLE stopped buzzing at times. Sally looked at NICOLE, then at Mephiles.

"Mephiles, please calm down," she said. "This test is almost over."

"Very well." Mephiles relaxed, and NICOLE calmed down again. Sonic stepped aside so the test could continue.

Next, Sally asked, "In the past, have you ever sworn or otherwise pledged allegiance to Dr. Ivo Robotnik, also known as Dr. Eggman?"

"No," replied Mephiles.

NICOLE was silent.

"Do you currently plan to swear or otherwise pledge allegiance to Dr. Ivo Robotnik?"

"No."

Again, silence.

"Now, the final question: Have you ever cooperated with Dr. Ivo Robotnik regardless of allegiance?"

"No."

For the final question, NICOLE…remained silent.

"NICOLE, the test is complete. Show me the results."

"Displaying results…" said NICOLE.

After looking over the results and pondering them for a bit, Sally said, "Well, it appears you've passed, Mephiles. However, you're not really supposed to explain responses until after the test. In any case, I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble."

Mephiles did his hand thing again. "Mellow out; I forgive you. You merely did what you felt was necessary. Truly, I should be sorry for my obstreperous conduct. Can you ever bestow your forgiveness on me?"

Sally paused briefly. "Oh…all right. However, you have to promise me that you'll stay true to your word, understand?"

"I have already given such a promise to Sonic. However, if I must also give it to you, then I do so, that I may be totally absolved of my wrongdoing."

"Thank you, Mephiles."

"No, thank you…Princess." Mephiles took Sally's hand and kissed it, causing her to blush. She was very flustered, not just by Mephiles' nerve, but also because she actually felt two lips press against her hand despite his lack of a visible mouth.

"…You're welcome," said Sally. "Well…see you guys later!" She kept walking. Mephiles was about to take another bite of his chili dog when Sonic spoke up:

"Yo Mephiles, can I give ya some advice?"

"Yes, Sonic?"

"I don't know how they do things back where you come from, but over here, it's not nice to hit on other people's ladies. I dig the fact that you were just bein' friendly and all, but not everybody's gonna see it that way, got it?"

"I'm sorry; I did not intend to be rude to anybody."

"Like I said, I dig that. Just be careful next…" Sonic shrugged. "…ah, who am I kiddin'!? I actually got a thing for a lot of ladies, so that message ain't gonna fly! Just pretend I never said anything about this, OK?"

"Don't worry, Sonic," said Mephiles. "I can dig it. After all, didn't somebody once say 'do as I say, not as I do?'"

"You're right…I guess. Now that ya mention it, here's the new buzz: It's OK if ya got a thing for more than one lady, but you can't actually go out with more than one lady unless they're cool with it and you can keep them both happy…I guess…whatever…"

"Hmmm…I suppose I can dig that, too."

"That's cool," said Sonic. "Now, let's polish off these chili dogs; I think they got cold after all that lie detectin'!"

Mephiles picked up the one he'd been eating and analyzed it. "This one doesn't seem so frigid…"

"Ah, whatever…"

Sonic & Mephiles finished up the rest of their chili dogs. Meanwhile, Sonic brought over a bowl of fruits & vegetables.

"Can't forget the healthy chow, either!" Sonic grabbed a Red Delicious apple and ate it. Mephiles stared at the bowl, stroking his chin.

"Problem, man?" asked Sonic.

"Well, these all look so ambrosial," said Mephiles. "I can hardly decide."

"Don't sweat it! Whatever ya pick, ya can't go wrong!"

"When you put it that way…" After a few more seconds, Mephiles picked up a juicy green pear and bit into it.

"Ah, now this is outta sight!" said Mephiles. "Sonic, you truly are an insightful fellow!"

"Cool, nobody's told me that before!" said Sonic. "Take as many of those as ya want!"

"No problemo."

Sonic & Mephiles had a few more fruits & veggies.

"Want anything to drink, man?" asked Sonic.

"No, I'm not thirsty," replied Mephiles.

"Suit yourself." Sonic cracked open an ice-cold bottle of Coca-Cola and drank it. Aftewards, he put the bottle in a nearby recycling bin.

"See, it's always important to recycle! That way, we can save the planet by not havin' to dig up any more rocks or metals or stuff, know what I'm sayin'?"

"Yes, I dig it," replied Mephiles. _(I find this to be unusually spellbinding.) _he thought._ (Where once I craved destruction, I now crave conservation. I really do owe much to these hedgehogs.)_

"So, what else ya wanna do?" asked Sonic.

Mephiles stroked his chin. "Hmmm…I'm not sure…"

"I don't know about you, but I wanna do some more runnin'!"  
"Haven't we already done that earlier in the diurnal course?"

"Well…yeah…but there's this one place we haven't gone yet, a secret spot, if ya will."

"I am captivated. Do tell me more."

"Tell ya? I can show ya better! Let's jam, Sam!"


	8. Light to Dark, Dark to Light

After washing up, Sonic led Mephiles to Azure Lake Zone. The zone, true to its name, was a beautiful lakeside area. Onshore, there were some ancient ruins overgrown with plant life. Across the lake, there was also excellent view of some mountains. The hedgehog & demon were having a pleasurable time running around the lake, through the ruins and every which way in between. Eventually, Mephiles tapped Sonic's shoulder and signaled to stop. The two screeched to a halt.

"What it is, dude?" asked Sonic.

"Look over there…" said Mephiles.

"Yeah, those are the mountains. Pretty sweet, huh?"

"Indeed, they are sweet. However, that's not what I gestured to."

"OK, so what are we supposed to be lookin' at?"

"I don't know, but I have never witnessed such a phenomenon before. It's so…beautiful…"

"Wait, what are ya…" Sonic then realized exactly what Mephiles was talking about: He was referring to the sunset, with its soothing rays of reds, oranges and yellows, plus some green for good measure.

"Oh yeah…" said Sonic. "That is decent…one of the best things ever, in fact!"

"Speak for yourself," said Mephiles. "Without you, I could never have known how groovy this is."

"For real? Hey, no probs, Mephiles!" Sonic patted him on the shoulder. "Always glad to share!"

Then, Mephiles returned the gesture by wrapping his arm around Sonic and pulling him a bit closer, taking the Blue Blur by surprise.

"Hey, what's this all about?"

"Is something wrong, Sonic?"

"Ah, forget it…" The two of them just stood there and watched the sun set behind the mountains, carrying another day along with it. When the sun was out of sight and the sky was beginning to darken, Sonic said: "Mephiles, if you're up for it, I got one more thing we can do…"

"Name it," said Mephiles.

"Ya wanna catch a flick?"

"A…what?"

"A movie."

"Well, I suppose I can spare some time for that…"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Neato! Let's blow this taco stand!" The two headed back for Knothole.

* * *

Back in Sonic's hut, Mephiles was sitting on the couch, while Sonic took the flowers he got earlier and put them in a glass vase on top of one of the cabinets.

"There!" said Sonic. "Now I don't have to carry 'em around everywhere! I think they really tie the room together, don't you?"

"Why…yes," replied Mephiles. "You deserve those very much!"

"Ah, of course I do! I only wish I had somethin' to give in return…"

Mephiles put his hand up. "Oh no, that ain't necessary, dude! You've already given sufficient compensation!"

"Really? Slammin'!" Sonic sat down on the couch, turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels.

"So, what flick might we be watching?" asked Mephiles.

"I don't know," replied Sonic. "I have nothin' in mind. Does it matter which one we watch?"

"No, not really. I would be hip with whatever you chose, Sonic."

"OK then. Ah, here's one…" Sonic finally settled on a channel that was playing _Supersonic Man_. They were just in time for the start of the movie.

"Hey, want any snacks?" asked Sonic.

"No thank you," replied Mephiles. Sonic grabbed himself a bag of cheese-flavored popcorn and proceeded to watch the movie with his new friend.

When the movie was over, Sonic said: "Heh, that was pretty good. Kinda cheesy, but good, I suppose. What about you, man?"

"Hmmm…it did seem quite dated," replied Mephiles. "It also felt strangely…derivative."

"How do ya mean?"

"I mean, I felt as if I had witnessed such a spectacle elsewhere, or perhaps, as if I was supposed to have witnessed it prior to catching this flick."

"Oh, I get it. Did ya like the movie?"

"Well, it could have used some improvements, but I suppose it was decent."

"I see what ya mean. Anyways, I gotta get ready for bed. Catch ya on the flip side, pal!" Sonic went over to the sink, brushed his teeth & flossed. When he went over to his bed, he saw Mephiles standing there.

"Heh, what are ya still doin' here?" asked Sonic.

"I have no longing to sleep elsewhere," replied Mephiles.

"Well, don't ya have a pad of your own? I mean, ya gotta have somewhere to sleep, right?"

"Sonic…you must have forgotten…I told you I was lonely. Therefore, I've no pad of which to call my own."

Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, right…"

"Besides, I owe so much to you. You have been the coolest friend that I have had the honor of knowing…nay, the only one. Where others wouldn't listen, you did. That alone is especially meaningful to me. I acknowledge that our relationship was tenuous when we first reunited, but I have disregarded that, just as you have overlooked my heinous actions. I can scarcely thank you enough for that. Nor can I thank you enough for all of the knowledge you've laid on me. You have taught me the beauty of life and the significance of trust. I…I cannot find any more words to express my gratitude…"

Sonic noticed something unusual: Mephiles was actually forming tears in his eyes. He was quite surprised to see the Dark One showing this sort of emotion. After all, this was a being who – until recently – had been devoid of emotion and who only enjoyed destruction. Sonic was moved by this display.

"Awwww…it's good, man! Come here!" Sonic gave Mephiles a hug, while Mephiles rested his head on Big Blue's shoulder.

"Oh Sonic, I'm so sorry!" cried Mephiles.

"For what?"

"For displaying such weakness!"

"Hey, don't beat yourself up like that! It's OK to cry, man! If there's somethin' eatin' ya, then let it out! We're friends, after all."

"Oh…thank you! You're too kind!" Mephiles cried even more. The two of them embraced each other for a few minutes, while Sonic gently rubbed Mephiles' back.

_(Aw, poor guy,)_ thought Sonic. _(He used to be a real bad dude, too. I'd hate to think about what he's gone through. Still, he's a real awesome cat, and I'm glad he wasn't lying about bein' sorry.)_

Once Mephiles broke off from the embrace, Sonic handed him some tissues.

"*Sniff*…Thank you," Mephiles blew his nose and dried his eyes. Ol' Blue brought a wastebasket over for Mephiles.

"Feelin' better?" asked Sonic.

"Infinitely," replied Mephiles, who disposed of his used tissues. "Oh, and Sonic…"

"Yeah?"

"May I embrace you for just a little bit longer?"

Sonic shrugged. "Heh, I don't see why not…"

"Very well." Mephiles hugged Sonic again, gently stroking the Blue Blur's back. Having somebody to hug brought a smile to the Dark One's face, such as it was.

"Sonic…I never noticed this, but you're so soft," said Mephiles. "Have you any secrets to accomplishing this?"

"Nah…not really," replied Sonic. "I just try to take a bath or shower as often as I can."

"Yes, I can dig that…" Mephiles continued his embrace, purring softly. At the very least, Sonic was happy that the demon was enjoying himself.

Soon enough, Mephiles let go of Sonic.

"Once again, I thank you, Sonic the Hedgehog," said Mephiles. "That was sweet."

"Gravy! Well, let's hit the sack, then!"

"I thought we were supposed to be retiring for the eventide?"

Sonic laughed. "Mephiles, I think ya know what I'm talkin' about!"

"Oh, of course…" Mephiles giggled a little. "Good night, buddy."

"Good night, pal!" Sonic & Mephiles got into the same bed. A few seconds later, Tails entered the hut.

"Uh, Sonic…what are you doing?" asked Tails.

"I'm goin' to bed," replied Sonic. "Why?"  
"Uhhh…"

Sonic knew something was up, so he got out of bed and went over to Tails.

"What's the matter, lil' buddy?"

"Sonic…you're not replacing me with Mephiles, are you?"

"What? No, don't be silly!"

Tails clasped his hands together. "I'm serious, Sonic!"

"I'm serious too, Tails! Believe me, that's the last thing I wanna do! Nobody in the world can ever replace ya! No matter how many friends I make, you'll always be A-Number-One to me!"

"Awwww…thanks, Sonic!" Sonic & Tails hugged each other.

"Sonic, is something amiss?" asked Mephiles.

"Not at all, dude! Just hang loose for a moment!" Sonic & Tails grabbed Tails' bed and moved it next to Sonic's bed.

"And what might this be all about?" asked Mephiles.

"Here's what it is," replied Sonic. "Some guy once said that new friends are silver and old friends are gold. The way I see it, new or old, friends are platinum, baby! Now, let's get some sleep! Good night, dudes!"

"Good night, Sonic!" said Tails.

"Good night…dudes!" said Mephiles.

Sonic turned out the lights, while Mephiles & Tails cuddled up with him. And in that very moment – in spite of everything that everyone was saying, in spite of what was actually going on – everything was all right with the world.


	9. Sonic Says

Knuckles the Echidna was walking down Wellington Boulevard in San Santos. The sun was shining over the smog-covered metropolis, and barring the random Christmas trees & decorations, one could hardly tell that it was the holiday season. As he was walking, he noticed Mephiles standing on the sidewalk. The Dark One was wearing a Santa costume and ringing a bell. Next to him stood a red bucket & a sign that said "THE SALVATION MARINE CORPS".

Mephiles repeatedly called out, "Alms for the poor!"

Knuckles stopped when he got to Mephiles.

"Good morrow to you, sir!" said Mephiles. "Do you wish to confer a donation to us?"

Knuckles rubbed his chin for a moment. "OK…here you go." He deposited $50 in the bucket.

"Why thank you, kind sir!" Mephiles bowed slightly.

At that moment, Sonic turned up.

"Sweet move, Knuckster!" said Sonic. "Sometimes, people need help. That's why it's a great idea to donate to charity! Ya don't have to give an arm & a leg; just spare whatever you can! Ya might not think it's a very rewarding thing to do, but trust me; the satisfaction ya get from helpin' out the needy is priceless!"


End file.
